


The Summer of My Lover

by Camphalfgalra



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst and Feels, Bisexual Shiro (Voltron), Bittersweet Ending, Boats and Ships, Child Paladins, Engagement, F/M, M/M, Minor Allura/Lotor (Voltron), Minor Keith/Lance (Voltron), Minor Matt Holt/Shiro, NaNoWriMo 2018, Past Relationship(s), Summer Love, Summer Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-04
Updated: 2018-11-30
Packaged: 2019-08-18 19:12:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 30,673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16522976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Camphalfgalra/pseuds/Camphalfgalra
Summary: There is always a story to a favorite personal possession that a person owns. Whether it be beautiful or full of tragedy, there is always a tale to be told. So when seven year old Lance innocently asks Shiro why his boat is named 'Allura,' the bittersweet story of his romantic encounter with her is told and memories are brought to light as he recounts the magical summer he had with his one time lover.





	1. Anemones

Matt Holt was not a babysitter. But for some reason, his mother had left him in charge of Katie, his younger sister, as she drove off to buy groceries at twelve in the afternoon.

Okay, on one part he understood why she made him babysit his sister, but he had no clue as to why he was left to babysit Lance. Lance’s mother Rosa had dropped Lance off unexpectedly, and since Matt loved Lance's family to death—because who couldn't?—he had said yes. 

That was the biggest mistake he had ever made. 

Lance and Katie were demon children, and when they got together for playdates or anything of the sort the two always ended up in tears. Or pulling each others hair. Or both. Many times Matt had tried to stop the fights but was unsuccessful due to the fact that Katie would hit him, too. _Hard_. 

So he had given up trying to break the fights up, instead calling his mother to help him break the two squabbling children up. She was a blessing to the world, in his opinion. He didn't get how she could deal with Katie and Lance together. He could barely handle Katie alone, so accepting to watch over the two together just showed how bad he was at making decisions.

Shiro was really the one who knew how to take care of the kids. He, like Matt, had a younger sibling named Keith who was best friends with Katie. In total, their little group of friends was four with Hunk, Lance, Keith and Katie. Hunk was eight, the oldest of the bunch. Lance was about to turn eight in a month, leaving Keith to sulk about still being seven while Katie was six.

Shiro. Yes, that was the answer to his problems. He quickly put on Katie's shoes, pulling both her and Lance into his car.

Katie groaned as Matt buckled her into her booster seat, Lance raising a questioning brow as Matt helped him buckle up too. 

"Where are we going?" An excited smile appeared on his features, showing off the gap left behind by a tooth that had fallen out. "Are we gonna go see Shiro?" 

Katie rolled her eyes. "Of course we're gonna see Shiro! Matt can't watch us alone 'cause he's afraid that we're gonna fight again,” she said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Lance made an 'o' with his mouth, nodding as he understood before he started smiling again, presumably happy that he was going to see Shiro again. 

Matt sent his younger sister a dirty look once he made it to the driver’s seat, starting the car up. "Do you really think I'm scared of you?"

In response, Katie grinned devilishly and wiggled her fingers as she slowly moved her hands towards Lance's hair. The boy immediately put his own hands up, trying to reach her hair before Matt screeched and slammed his head into the steering wheel. 

Both Katie and Lance looked up in alarm, Lance peering around the driver’s seat with great concern. 

"Matt? Are you okay?"

"Mattie?"

Matt groaned as he sat up, sending the two children behind him a weary look. "You two drive me crazy, you know that?" 

Katie and Lance both sent him innocent smiles, batting their lashes in sync. Matt rolled his eyes playfully before pulling out of the driveway, dialing Shiro. Lance frowned. 

"Papi told me it isn't safe to drive while talking on the phone. He says you can get really hurt if you do it," said Lance with wide eyes full of worry. Katie frowned too, glaring at Matt. 

"Matt, that isn't safe!"

Matt let put a sigh and sent them exasperated looks. "Guys, I don't normally do this but I need to find Shiro. Also, I’m off to the side of the road. I’m responsible, you know."

Katie reluctantly sat back, crossing her arms while pouting and looking out the window. Lance sat there frowning, but didn't say anything anymore. 

Matt placed the phone on his lap, letting it ring. On the fourth ring, Shiro picked up. 

" _Hey Matt, what's up_?"

Lance immediately perked up and screeched with joy. "Shiro!" Katie stopped pouting to smile at the sound of Shiro's voice. 

"It's Shiro!"

All three heard Shiro chuckle before speaking up. " _So I'm assuming you want to ask where I am to help take care of the two, right Matt_?" asked Shiro, his tone laced with amusement. 

Matt huffed and rolled his eyes playfully, pouting as he looked out the window. "It's not my fault that you have some weird but awesome super powers that allow you to have control over the kids."

Lance grinned. "He has powers! He's my hero!" He was then playful slapped by Katie, who was smirking. 

"Shiro is a better hero than Matt," she added while glancing from the side of her eyes at her brother. "He's the one who always gets me a Happy Meal when we go to McDonalds. Matt just buys ice cream or apple juice," she added while pouting. Lance shook his head in disgust. 

"Gross."

Matt sighed. "Look Shiro, are you busy? My mom is out grocery shopping, and we both know that means she's going to be gone for at least half the day."

" _Ah no, I'm not busy. I just have Keith with me at the boat docks. You guys should come join us_ ," said Shiro while the trio in Matt's car heard Keith groan in the background. 

"Really? Are you sure it's a good idea to let uh, Lance and Keith walk on the docks together? You do remember what happened last time, right?" Asked Matt, shuddering upon remembering the memory. "I was not prepared to witness Rosa crying over Lance being soaked to the bone after Keith pushed him into the water."

" _Yes, I remember what happened last time_ ," said Shiro with amusement in his tone. " _I also know that Keith does not want his tv privileges taken away again, right Keith_?" His only response was Keith grunting. Matt frowned and looked at the two sitting in the back seat, Lance and Katie looking at each other warily. 

"Do you two promise you'll behave if we go visit Shiro at the docks?"

"I always behave," said Katie innocently. "It's Lance who you have to worry about."

"Me?! I am an angel! Even Ronnie says so!" Lance said indignantly while glaring at the smug girl next to him. "I'm not the one who's painting random shapes on Matt's face when he sleeps, am I?"

"Hey! That's supposed to be a secret!"

"Secret, shmeepit!"

"That's not even a word!"

"Uh, yes it is because I created it," said Lance proudly. Katie glared at him. 

"It's stupid, just like you."

"Matt, Pidge is saying those bad words again!"

"My name isn't Pidge, it's Katie!" The young girl growled in frustration. "Get it right, Lance!"

"Look, all I want to know is if you guys will behave at the docks. I didn't ask for your arguing over who is an angel because neither of you are saints," Matt said flatly. 

Lance sighed. "Fine, Mister Party Pooper. I'll behave if Keith doesn't push me into the water again," he said while glaring at Matt's phone. Matt looked expectantly at Katie, the girl shrugging.

"I don't push people into water. I laugh at people when they get pushed into water," she said while grinning. Matt shook his head and allowed a small smile to make an appearance on his face. 

"You really are a Holt. Uh, Shiro? You still there?" He said awkwardly while looking down at his phone. 

" _I'm still here. Just come on down to the docks. You know where I'll be_."

"Of course you're on that boat," said Matt while sighing softly. "Okay, I'll be there soon with Sir Lancelot and Lady Katie. See you in a bit, Shiro."

" _See you soon- wait Keith, no don't lift the anchor_!" Shiro hung up abruptly, causing Matt to blink in surprise while Lance and Katie snickered. 

"You think Keith will really do it so he floats out into sea?"

"I would because you're really annoying," replied Katie while shrugging. Lance gasped, pointing an accusatory finger at her. 

"Take it back!"

"No, because it's true," she retorted. Matt shook his head. 

"Can you two stop arguing?"

"Why? It's funny seeing him all mad," said Katie while tilting her head to look at Lance. Matt groaned. 

"Listen, if you two don't stop arguing we aren't going to go see Shiro."

"No!" Exclaimed Lance as he looked at Matt with a heartbroken look. "I promise I'll behave even though Keith is there!"

"Pinkie promise?" Matt asked while sticking his pinkie out towards Lance. 

Lance looked down at the older boy's finger, then at his face before sighing, hooking his pinkie around Matt's. "Pinkie promise," he grumbled out. Matt smiled. 

"Great! Now buckle up, because we're hitting the road again!"

Katie and Lance cheered, doing as they were told before Matt started the car up and drove towards the docks. Katie frowned, pondering over what Matt had told Shiro. 

"Psst, Lance!"

"What?"

"What do you think Matt meant when he said, "of course you're on that boat?'"

"I dunno. Maybe Shiro just really likes boats?" Lance said while raising a brow. 

Katie pouted. "I dunno either. Let's just ask Shiro when we get there," she said. Lance nodded. 

"Okay. You ask, though."

"Why me?!"

"You wanted to know!" He whisper yelled while pouting. Matt glanced at the two, his brows furrowed in confusion. 

"What are you two whispering about back there?"

"Nothing!" The two replied in unison, Matt looking at them suspiciously before turning his eyes back to the road. 

"If you guys are wondering what I mean, then all I can tell you is that Shiro is on his boat that happens to be named Allura."

"Why is it named 'Allura?''Lance asked, pouting as he leaned forward. "Is his boat a girl?"

Matt shrugged. "You're going to have to ask Shiro that, not me. And sit back, Lance! I don't want your mom and sister to yell at me again," he said wearily. "Last time is still in ingrained into my memory."

Lance sighed deeply. "Fineeee."

"Are we there yet?"

"Not yet, Pidge."

"Oh." Briefly pausing, she kicked her legs out before opening her mouth again. "Are we there now?"

Matt narrowed his eyes, glancing quickly at his sister in suspicion. "Not yet, Katie."

Katie frowned, crossing her arms. Lance grinned as he nodded, Katie smirking before sighing and opening her mouth.

"Are we there now?"

"Katie!"

The duo in the back giggled, and Matt groaned as he came to a stop at a red light. This was going to be the longest half hour of his life.

* * *

Shiro sighed as he let the anchor fall into the water again, making sure that it was secure before crossing his arms and looking down at Keith with a disappointed look. 

"Keith, you aren't supposed to raise the anchor unless you're going out to sea, remember?"

“But I was going out to sea," replied the raven haired boy with crossed arms. "I was running away because I don't wanna see Lance."

"Keith, running away from your problems won't solve them," Shiro replied softly while looking fondly at the young boy. "You have to face them like a big boy. You're seven, not four.”

"My cat is named Seven. Next year, I'm gonna call him Eight."

"Keith, that's not how naming cats works."

Keith shrugged. "That's how my cat works. Oh look, it's Hunk! Hi Hunk!" The short boy waved his arm frantically, catching the other boy's attention. Hunk smiled and turned around to whisper into his mom's ear as she leaned down to listen, causing the woman to smile and nod. 

He cheered before giving her a kiss on the cheek, racing towards the dock where Shiro and Keith were waiting for him. "Hi Shiro! Hey Keith!"

Keith grinned. "Hunk! I thought I'd never see you again!"

Hunk smiled. "Well I'm here now! Ooh, is that your boat?" He asked with an awestruck look in his eyes. "It's so… _pretty_."

Keith shook his head. "No, it's Shiro's. He says it's called 'Allura' but I don't know why he'd call it Allura if it's not a girl."

"Do you even know an Allura?" Hunk asked, turning around to look at Shiro. Shiro's eyes widened as he heard the young boy ask an innocent, but at the same time, dangerous question that made his heart clench painfully. 

He sent Hunk a small smile, ruffling his hair much to his dismay. "Yes."

"Keith!"

Keith turned around, confusion on his face until he realized who had called his name. "Look, it's Pidge! Oh, and Lance. Ew."

Pidge grinned as she slid to a halt next to him, Lance immediately throwing his arms around Hunk upon seeing that the other boy was on the dock as well. 

"Hunk! Come here you amazing person!"

Hunk chuckled as Lance hugged him, patting his back gently. "Yep, it's me. Shouldn't you say hi to Shiro too?"

Lance let go of Hunk and twirled around, hugging Shiro's torso while sighing happily. "Shiro the hero!" 

Shiro raised a brow, smiling. "A hero, huh? Is that what the kids call adults now?" 

Lance wrinkled his nose. "No. You're my hero because you're so amazing! Matt is just regular."

Matt rolled his eyes, taking his place next to Shiro. "Gee thanks. Really feeling the love here."

Katie giggled, looking up at her brother with a smile. "Don't worry, you'll be someone's hero one day."

Matt sighed and looked at Shiro. "Do you see this disrespect?"

"This is why I always buy them Happy Meals when it's my turn to pick them up from school. You have to learn, Matt. Not all of us can be naturals," Shiro joked while shoving Matt lightly. "So how have you been?"

"Trying to maintain my sanity while taking care of my sister. Mom's busy, so I've been taking care of Katie for the first few weeks of summer break. So far, it's been hell."

Shiro chuckled. "I'm sure it can't be that bad."

"She flings her food at me when she doesn't feel like eating it. I'm pretty sure there a piece of corn stuck in my ear, too," Matt replied with a pout. "It's Katie, Shiro. Why do you give me false hopes of what my sister could be?"

"She's a kid, Matt. Kids like to make fun of easy prey.”

“I am not easy prey!” Matt protested. 

“Yes you are!” Pidge called out from her spot on the edge of the pier, flashing him a smug smile. 

“Oh leave me be,” Matt grumbled. “Not all of us can be bodybuilders like Shiro.”

Shiro grinned. “Yup.”

“You weren’t supposed to agree!”

Shiro threw his head back and let out a boisterous laugh, leaving Matt to stare at him with a small pout. 

“Shiroooooo!” Came a call from the edge of the pier, loud and high pitched. 

Shiro stopped laughing and looked at Lance curiously, his eyes twinkling in amusement. 

“What’s wrong, Lance?”

“We wanna know a story,” he said, smiling widely. 

Shiro raised a brow and made his way towards the edge of the dock, Matt following closely behind. 

“What story?”

“We wanna know why your boat is called Allura,” Pidge said, licking a lollipop she had found in the pocket of her sweater as she tried to stare Shiro down, even though he was at least two feet taller than her. 

Matt let out a surprised noise, quickly turned his attention to Shiro’s face. He watched Shiro’s amusement leave, instead replaced by a somber smile and sad eyes. 

Shiro sat down behind all four of the children, crossing his legs in front of him. He placed his elbows on his thighs, letting his head fall onto his knuckles. 

“So you really want to know why I called my boat Allura, huh.”

“Shiro…” Matt began, his tone laced with concern, “you don’t have to–”

“They asked a question, and I should answer them,” Shiro said, flashing Matt a small smile. “Don’t worry. It was years ago. I’m over it now.”

Hunk tilted his head to the side, twisting his body around to face Shiro. “What happened years ago? Was it a moon goddess?”

“I bet he met a mermaid named Allura,” Lance said, his face glowing with excitement. “That’s why his ship is called Allura.”

“Mermaids aren’t real, dummy,” Keith said, rolling his eyes. “Besides, Shiro wouldn’t name his boat after a girl. He likes boys.”

“Shiro would like to continue with his story if the kids let him,” Shiro said, sending Keith a look. 

Keith shrunk back, sulking. “Fine.”

“Thank you. Now, as I was saying, no, I didn’t name my boat after a mermaid, Lance,” Shiro said in slight amusement. 

“Ha! Told you,” Keith said victoriously. 

Lance only stuck his tongue out at the boy. “Shut up!”

“No, you shut up!”

“You talked first!”

“No, you did!”

“Guys, both of you shut up!” Pidge shouted, pushing her lollipop into Hunk’s hands before harshly pulling on both of Keith and Lance’s ears. 

Keith and Lance howled in pain, desperately scratching at Pidge to get her to let go. 

“Guys, _please_ ,” Matt said exasperatedly, running a hand through his hair. 

“I want to hear the story about Allura so shut up before I push you both into the sea!”

“Okay, okay!”

“Let go you demon!”

Pidge let go of their ears and hissed at them, taking her lollipop back from Hunk’s hand and sitting in front of Shiro. She stuck her lollipop back in her mouth, motioning for Shiro to keep talking. 

Shiro blinked owlishly. “Okay then,” he said after some hesitation. 

“If your boat isn’t named after a mermaid, then what’s it named after?” Hunk asked curiously. 

Shiro smiled. “It’s named after a special person who I knew a long, long time ago.”

Lance gasped. “Romance! Oh yes! This is gonna be a good story,” he cheered excitedly. 

Keith shot him a glare before sitting down next to Pidge, looking up at Shiro suspiciously. 

“I thought you and Matt were boyfriends.”

Matt flushed a dark shade of red, his eyes going wide in embarrassment. 

“We are not boyfriends!” He sputtered in embarrassment. 

“Not yet,” Pidge mumbled under her breath. 

“Anyways! Shiro, g-go on with your story,” Matt said, trying to regain his composure. 

Shiro chuckled. “Yeah, that. Allura was the name of a girl who I met a few summers ago. She came from England to spend the summer with her uncle, and we met because he was my therapist back then.”

“Woah,” Hunk and Lance said, eyes wide with curiosity. 

“She was...an angel,” Shiro said wistfully, looking up into the sky. “Her laugh was so beautiful, and her smile was blinding. She was everything I ever wanted.”

“What happened to her?” Pidge asked. 

Shiro smiled sadly. “She went back home to England at the end of the summer. But it truly was an amazing summer...one of the best I’ve ever had,” he confessed. 

Keith raised his head indignantly. “She left you?! What kind of monster does that?!”

“Allura, apparently,” Pidge said, growling. “She hurt Shiro!”

“She did not hurt Shiro,” Lance protested. “Don’t you see? Shiro talks about her like she’s a queen! Would you talk about someone like that if they hurt you?”

“Well…” Hunk said, uncertainty evident in his tone. 

“Shush! She is a queen!”

“You never even met her,” Pidge said, sending him a disgusted look. 

“She is very beautiful to me!” 

“How can someone who hurt Shiro be beautiful?” Keith asked in disgust. “She must be so ugly and terrible.”

“Actually, she was a goddess,” Shiro said, successfully silencing the children in front of him. “She had the most beautiful blue eyes, and long flowing hair that made her look as if she were an actual queen.”

“Wow,” Lance breathed out, a smile taking forming on his lips. “She sound so pretty.”

Shiro nodded. “She was.”

“Why did you name your boat Allura if she left you?” Keith asked, frowning. 

“I named it Allura because I could,” he said, shrugging. “Simple as that. Now, what other story do you wanna hear?”

“Oh come on!”

“You can’t just say that she left and not tell us what happened!” Lance protested. “Where’s the romance in that?!”

“Well–”

“Yeah, tell us all about this, ‘Allura’,” Keith said, wrinkling his nose. 

“I don’t think–”

“Come on, Shiro!” Pidge urged. “I wanna know everything! Spill the tea!”

Shiro raised his brows, turning to face Matt. “Did you teach her that?”

Matt shrugged. “Eh. She picked it up from Veronica.”

“Come on, Shiro! Tell us!”

“Yeah! What happened during that summer with Allura?”

“Tell us! Tell us! Pleaseeee!”

“Pretty please?”

Shiro looked down at the eager children in front of him, his smile warm as he motioned for them to sit down. 

“Alright. I’ll tell you. But you better sit down. It’s a long, long story.”

The children sat down on their behinds and eagerly looked up at Shiro, sans Keith, who looked like he was about murder someone. Matt leaned against one of the poles on the dock, watching Shiro begin to tell his story with sad eyes. 

It was time to relive the summer of Shiro’s fated lover, the summer of Allura. 

“Okay. So it all started on the fated day of May fifteen, five years ago…”

* * *

“I think it’s safe to say that you’ve made a lot of improvement since the first day that you walked through my doors,” Coran said happily, shuffling his papers in his lap. 

“Yeah,” Shiro said, smiling softly. “I can’t believe a little less than a year ago I was still tied down to the mentality that I was going to die everytime I sat in a car.”

Coran smiles sympathetically. “I can’t believe it either, Shiro. I’m just so glad that you’re doing better now. I used to believe that I would never get you to crack a smile, you know.”

Shiro chuckled. “Well, it did take a lot for it to happen. Honestly? I’m just glad that I’ve finally begun to make peace with myself over what happened.”

“As am I,” Coran said sincerely. “You’re growing, my boy. Both physically and mentally.”

“I don’t think I’ve been growing physically,” Shiro joked, sending Coran a lopsided smile. “I stopped once I was eighteen.”

“Are you sure? I mean, look at those muscles!” Coran exclaimed while gesturing at Shiro’s arms. “You’re going to attract a lot of ladies like that.”

“Please,” Shiro laughed, “I’m not thinking about any ladies right now. And besides, if they’re only interested in my muscles, they’d be pretty shallow, don’t you think?”

“Maybe,” Coran said, a playful glint in his eyes. “But I know that even without them, you’d still attract a lot of the ladies.”

“If they’re not scared off by my lack of arm, that is,” Shiro said grimly, raising his prosthetic arm. 

Coran let out a small sigh. “Shiro, how long have we known each other?”

“Almost a year?”

“Exactly,” Coran said. “And believe me when I say that if someone truly falls for you, they won’t care if you have a prosthetic or not. You’ll meet someone; I know you will. So stop moping! You’re Shiro, for crying out loud! You beat a life threatening disease and a grisly car accident!”

“Ah, that’s just luck,” Shiro said, waving him off. 

“Luck shmuck!” Coran said, waving a finger in Shiro’s face. “No, it’s not. You’re still here for a reason, and I’m willing to bet that you’re going to have so many more amazing experiences in your life.”

Shiro smiled. “Where is this all coming from, Coran? Why the sudden talk about romance?”

“It’s summer, Shiro! The winds are bound to change in your favor,” Coran said, nudging him with his elbow. “Didn’t you hear? Summer is the best season for romance to bloom.”

Shiro chuckled. “Maybe for you, but I’m content with staying as I am right now. Besides, I happen to be more of a winter romantic.”

“It is true that winter brings beauty, but it also bring gloominess and depression with dark grey skies,” Coran said, looking out the window. “It is only then when you wish you could go back to the summer, when everything was sunshine without the threat of rain.”

“Wow,” Shiro said, whistling. “You must have a lot of experience with summer lovers if you desperately want to talk to me about it.”

“Oh you have no idea.”

Shiro promptly burst into a fit of laughter, his eyes crinkling at the sides. Coran only grinned as he took a sip of his coffee, the grin growing as Shiro’s laughter died down. 

“You can’t just say things like that, you know,” Shiro said, his tone laced with amusement. 

“Oh I can if they’re going to lift your spirits,” Coran replied, watching as Shiro shook his head. 

“Okay, okay, enough talk about romance. Tell me, what are your plans for the summer now that you’re out of college?” Coran asked, crossing his legs out in front of him. 

Shiro shrugged. “I’m probably going to try hitting the gym more often, you know, building up more strength.”

“Ah, so you’re going to become a bodybuilder,” Coran said, nodding.

Shiro chuckled. “Not exactly. I still have my job at the coffee shop down the street from my apartment, so I’ll probably just spend the summer making iced coffees for people. Oh, and babysit my younger brother. You know, boring domestic stuff.”

“Yeah, it is rather domestic,” Coran said bluntly. He lit up a few second later, however, and grinned widely. 

“Say, I have a better idea for you!”

Shiro raised a brow. “And what is that?”

“I have a niece who’s coming from England to visit me this entire summer. She’s around your age, and she’s never been here before,” Coran said, drumming his fingers on his thighs. 

“Oh…?”

“As you know, I’m a busy man,” Coran said, gesturing towards the papers on his desk,” “and I’d hate to tell her to stay locked up in my house because I can’t take her out as much as I want to. So, I was wondering if maybe you’d like to...you know,” he said gesturing at Shiro. 

“Be her tour guide?” Shiro asked, sending Coran a lopsided smile. 

Coran snapped his fingers. “Exactly! So what do you say? Will you do it?”

Shiro hummed. “I don’t know, Coran. What if she doesn’t feel comfortable around me? It’s a risk sending me to give her a tour of the city.”

“Oh pish posh!” Coran said, waving Shiro off. “Allura doesn’t care what people look like, as long as they respect her as a normal person and not some fragile lady. Believe me, she’ll be thrilled to have you give her a tour of the city.”

Shiro let out a sigh. “I don’t know…”

“Please, Shiro? You’re my only hope! Otherwise, she’ll never want to come back to visit!”

Shiro pursed his lips. “Are you sure she’ll be okay with me giving her a tour?” He asked hesitantly. 

“Of course I am! I raised her, Shiro. I know my niece better than one, and she is nothing but a joy to be around. Although, she can be a bit of a handful,” Coran said, stroking his mustache thoughtfully. 

“And by that you mean…?”

“She’s a very eccentric and interesting person, Shiro. Once she’s made up her mind about doing something, you better hold on tight. She’ll make this summer one you’ll never forget.”

Shiro huffed. “Only you, Coran. Only you ask for me to do these things.”

Coran grinned. “Oh believe me, you won’t regret it,” he said, a playful twinkle in his eyes. “Something tells me that you’ll end up wishing that summer would never end.”

Shiro scoffed. “Highly doubtful.”

“Will you do it, then?” Coran asked hopefully. 

Shiro sighed in resignation. “Of course I will.”

“Oh thank you, Shiro! She gets here on Saturday, and I’ll probably bring her with me so that you can take her out for a stroll once your session is over,” Coran said excitedly. 

Shiro smiled faintly. “Sounds great, Coran.”

“You’re a lifesaver, Shiro. A hero!”

All Shiro could do was laugh and curse his generosity as he realized that he had unwittingly been roped into being a tour guide for the rest of his summer.

* * *

“Wait!” Pidge cried, sticking her hand in the air. “Coran was Allura’s uncle?”

“Yeah,” Shiro confirmed. “He raised her in England before moving to here to lead a better life.”

“Was she rich?” Lance asked, tilting his head to the side. “Cuz she sounds like she’s a rich girl.”

“I still don’t like her,” Keith said flatly. “Even you didn’t want to hang out with her and you didn’t know her!”

Shiro shrugged. “I was young and already had enough by taking care of you, Keith. Besides, I didn’t know her personally. You can’t judge a person unless you’ve met them, you know.”

“Well she still sucks,” Keith said bluntly. 

Hunk sighed. “Keith, she does not suck.”

“U-huh.”

“Nu-uh.”

“Yes.”

“No!” Lance yelled, hitting Keith in the back of his head. “She is angel. A sky mermaid!”

Matt grimaced. “Lance, you haven’t even heard the rest of the story, and at the rate you’re going, Shiro isn’t going to be able to finish telling the story before we have to go.”

“Matt’s right,” Shiro said, nodding. “If you guys keep interrupting, we’re never going to finish here. And stop arguing over Allura. You’ll get to know how she was soon enough,” he said gently. 

Matt let out a small sigh. “She really was great.”

Shiro looked at him curiously, his eyes seeming like they wanted to ask him a question. He hesitated, instead flashing Matt a small smile before turning back to the children sitting in front of him.

“Can I continue with my story?”

“Yes!” Came an excited chorus, sans Keith again, who grumbled out a ‘yes’ from under his breath. 

Shiro smiled. “Great.”


	2. Gladiolus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro finally meets Allura, and he understands why that’s her name.

Matt let out a loud laugh as he pulled a box of cereal out of one the cabinets over the sink, Shiro pouting from beside him. 

“It’s not funny,” he whined. “I didn’t want to agree, but I had to! Coran’s done so much for me, and it’d be really awkward and selfish of me to just say no.”

Matt grinned. “You are a weak, weak man, Shiro. God,” he said, laughing, “I can’t believe your therapist, of all people, is trying to set you up! Has he even shown you a picture of this chick?”

Shiro shook his head, taking out two bowls from the cupboard. “Nope. All I know about her is that she lives in England and is coming to visit Coran for the entire summer. Do you realize how much I’m going to suffer? I won’t even have one single day to myself!” He exclaimed loudly, his eyes going wide.

“Easy there, tiger,” Matt teased, patting Shiro’s shoulder reassuringly. “You’ll be fine. Besides, I doubt this chick is going to be too much trouble. If she’s anything like Coran, I think she’ll end up being a good friend, you know what I mean?”

Shiro arched a brow. “You only met Coran once, and that was months ago when you still drove me to my sessions. How can you be so sure that Allura is anything like Coran?”

“Finally! A name!” Matt said excitedly, grinning triumphantly. “No offense, but calling her ‘chick’ is getting annoying. Anyways, I’m not saying that she’s going to be exactly like Coran because let’s face it, if she was raised by him, then she can’t be a stuck up brat.”

Shiro let out a sigh, placing the bowls on the kitchen countertop. “You’re right, but I still think it was stupid of me to agree so fast. What if she doesn’t want me to take her out? What if she hates me? What if she only wants to go out with Coran?”

“Hey, pass me that box of cereal, will you?” Matt said, pouring milk into his bowl.

“And what if she hates where I take her? Oh God,” Shiro said, completely horrified, “what if an accident happens? I’m going to go to jail!”

“You are not going to go to jail, Shiro,” Matt said with a roll of his eyes, pouring cereal into his bowl.

“But what if something goes wrong?”

“If I’m being completely honest with you, the only thing that can go wrong is that you end up falling in love with a girl who lives on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean,” Matt said, pouring milk into Shiro’s bowl as well.

“Both you and Coran are so obsessed with me falling in love with someone. It’s unhealthy,” Shiro said flatly.

Matt erupted into a fit of laughter as he placed both bowls on the kitchen table, setting the cereal box next to Shiro.

“Look, all I’m saying is that you better not fall in love with Allura, that’s all. Not because I think that she’s a bad person, but because she lives halfway across the world. She’s only here for the summer, man. And long distance relationships are work,” he said, sliding into his seat before sticking a large spoonful of cereal into his mouth. 

“I wasn’t planning on falling in love with her, Matt,” Shiro said, rolling his eyes. “Why are you so obsessed with my love life, anyways? You haven’t had a girlfriend since freshman year of highschool,” he said pointedly.

Matt sent him a glare. “Okay, first of all, rude. Second of all, it’s kinda my job to worry about you, and that includes your love life. You’re my best friend, and I don’t want to see you getting hurt because of some rich girl who gets to spend her entire summer around you,” he said, sticking his nose in the air.

Shiro gasped, putting a hand to his heart. “Aw, Matt! You do care!” He said in mock flattery. 

Matt waved him off, reading something on his phone. “Yeah yeah, laugh it up. I care about you a lot, you know.”

“Yeah, I know.”

The two sat in silence for a couple of minutes, Matt scrolling through his social media and eating his cereal while Shiro read the back of the cereal box, distracted by his thoughts about Allura.

“Oh yeah,” Matt suddenly spoke up, “when are you going to meet her?”

“Saturday,” Shiro said, frowning deep in thought. 

There was a pause before Matt let out a snort of laughter, pulling Shiro out of his thoughts.

“You mean, as in… today?” Matt asked, failing to hide a smile.

Shiro wrinkled his nose. “No. Today is Friday….right?”

“Shiro, today is Saturday,” Matt said, a grin spreading over his features.

“Wait, what?!”

Shiro scrambled out of his chair in panic, knocking it down in the process. He quickly stuck another spoonful of cereal into his mouth before running quickly into his room, ignoring Matt’s laughter from the kitchen. 

“Why didn’t you remind me earlier?!” Shiro yelled as he tugged on a black short sleeve shirt, looking around for his jeans. 

“I thought you knew!” Matt called back, his voice laced with humor. 

Shiro stuck his head out the door to his room, glaring in Matt’s direction. 

“Does it look like I knew?!”

“I don’t know, man. You seemed more fueled about Allura today, so I assumed that it was because you’re meeting her today!”

“No? Ah shit, I’m going to be late!”

“This is why people set alarms, Shiro. To avoid this,” he said teasingly, watching as Shiro ran into the kitchen and pulled Matt’s keys off the counter, before turning around to shoot Matt a tired look. 

“Aren’t you the one who always preaches about not using alarms?”

Matt shrugged. “Eh. Doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use them, you know what I mean? And hey, those are my keys!”

“Too late,” Shiro said, his expression stoic. “You’re grounded today. Go read a book or something, I don’t know. Be productive.”

“This is just because I forgot to remind you, isn’t it.”

“Oh yeah.” Shiro flashed him a peace sign before walking to the front door of their shared apartment, slipping his feet into his sneakers and running out, leaving a laughing Matt behind. 

He glanced down at his watch as he slid into the driver’s side of the car and internally cursed. He was so, so screwed.

* * *

“You forgot that you were gonna meet Allura?!” Lance screeched loudly, his eyes wide. 

Pidge raised a brow. “I thought you liked her,” she said, looking up at Shiro in confusion. 

“I didn’t know her yet,” Shiro clarified, “so I didn’t know if I would like her. As you know, I eventually did end up liking her.”

“Why did you forget though?” Hunk asked, pouting. “Were you that afraid of a girl?”

Matt let out a snort of laughter from behind Shiro, his lips curling into a small grin when Shiro turned around to pout at him. 

“Stop,” he whined. 

“Not a chance,” Matt replied teasingly. 

“And they say they’re not boyfriends,” Pidge said loudly enough so that both Shiro and Matt could hear, the two turning around with slightly flushed faces. 

Keith frowned. “I dunno, Shiro…I feel like you were right in skipping your meeting with Allura. You would’ve been happier like that!”

A sigh escaped Shiro’s lips. “You would think so, right? But, look at it this way. Would you be relieved if you skipped out on a doctor’s appointment knowing that you need shots?”

“Not really,” Keith confessed. “Mostly because I want to see the needle, but the shots are important too I guess.”

Lance snickered. “You are so weird.”

“I’m not the one who thought Shiro fell in love with a mermaid,” Keith pointed out. 

“Hey! He’s a sailor, so I thought–”

“If you two keep arguing I’m pushing you both into the sea,” Pidge threatened, glaring at them from the corner of her eye. 

Keith and Lance both sent each other one final glare before sitting back, sulking. 

Shiro sighed. “Thank you, Pidge.”

“When are we gonna meet Allura?” Lance whined, childishly pouting. 

“Right now,” Shiro said with a small smile.

* * *

Shiro quickly pulled into the parking lot, sliding into his reserved parking space in front of the small building. He quickly got out and slammed the car door shut, adrenaline racing through his veins as checked the time. 

Twelve ten. He was ten minutes late.

He let out a groan before trudging towards the door, resigning himself to being late for the first time since he had started coming to Coran’s therapy center. What a great way to make a first impression on the girl who he was going to have to be with every single day of the summer. 

He pushed the door open slowly, his expression completely neutral as he walked in, looking down at the ground. He walked towards the front desk, preparing to give an excuse for being late, when he was snapped out of his thoughts by a chirpy voice. 

“Hello! How may I assist you?”

Shiro let out a sigh before looking up, ready to explain why he had been late, only for the words to die in his throat before they even came out.

Sitting in front of him was the most gorgeous girl had ever seen in his entire life. Her eyes were a bright shade of blue, contrasting her dark skin beautifully. Her hair was platinum blonde, cascading elegantly and gracefully down her back. She wore a light pink sweater over a white shirt with a long lavender skirt to accompany it. The only word he could use to describe her was… _ethereal_. 

Her eyes twinkled with amusement as she watched Shiro try to regain his composure, her lips curling into a playful smile. 

“My, aren’t you quite articulate?” She teased. 

Shiro coughed loudly into his arm before clearing his throat. Regaining his composure, he managed to flash her an apologetic smile. 

“Hi, yeah, that uh, normally never happens. I guess I was just a little uh…confused?” He said, scratching the back of his neck. 

She chuckled. “Well, you wouldn’t be the first. A few of the other people who have come to their sessions have also been ‘confused’ to see me here,” she said in amusement. 

Shiro chuckled awkwardly. “Yeah, I’m sorry about that. Like I said, I usually never do that. It’s just that I’m late and I kinda have something important to do after this too, so I’m a little overwhelmed right now.”

The woman nodded, her grin growing. “Ah, I see. Well, if you can give me your name, then I’ll register you and tell Coran that you’re here.”

Shiro let out a large sigh. “I’ve never been late before. I really hope he doesn’t get mad.”

“Oh, it’s Coran. What’s important to him is that you show up willingly,” she said while looking through the large computer on the front desk. 

“Well, that’s good…I think.”

The woman nodded. “You’re Shiro?” She asked, tilting her head to the side as she turned around to face him curiously. 

He nodded. “Yeah. That’s me.”

A funny look crossed her face before she quickly shook her head, deciding to smile at him instead. 

“Well, you can go in to see Coran now.”

Shiro smiled gratefully. “Thank you.”

She waved him off. “It’s no problem, really. Just go,” she said playfully. 

Shiro dumbly nodded before dashing off in the direction to Coran’s office, sighing in relief upon finding it open. 

He quickly slipped inside before shutting the door softly behind him, letting out a loud sigh as he smiled remembering the pretty face that he had just seen. 

“Well! I certainly wasn’t expecting you to be late!” Piped up a voice from behind him. 

Shiro quickly spun around to face Coran, looking like a deer caught in the headlights. He expected Coran to look disappointed, hell, perhaps mad as well. Coran, however, was sporting the largest smile Shiro had ever seen the man wearing. 

“I…kinda forgot that today was Saturday,” Shiro said sheepishly, flushing red in embarrassment. “Matt reminded me twenty minutes before I was supposed to be here.”

Coran waved him off, still sporting his large smile. “Ah, that’s quite alright, my boy. One time won’t kill you, you know.”

Shiro let out a quick sigh of relief before settling on the small couch opposite Coran’s chair, sinking into it. He began to relax, letting out a small sigh. 

“That’s what the woman at the front desk said too,” he said in amusement. “Guess I should really listen to others a bit more instead of worrying over everything.”

Coran nodded. “Ah. So you’ve met Allura, then?”

Shiro nodded, smiling. “Yeah...wait, what?” His smile quickly fell and was replaced by a look of genuine shock, going completely slack jawed. 

Coran grinned. “Who did you think that was? An alien?”

“She…no, what? I thought…I thought she was getting here after my session!”

Coran chuckled. “Shiro, she practically begged to come into work with me today. She was quite excited to meet you, too,” he said, his eyes twinkling in amusement. 

Shiro gaped at him. “I…She was?” He asked, completely astounded. “Hold up, are you serious?! I thought she was a new secretary or something!”

“She wanted to be the first face you saw walking in today,” Coran said cheekily. “That’s just how Allura is. And no, she is not our new secretary. Trigel is just out for the morning. She’ll be back by one.”

Shiro started at Coran dumbly, still in shock. She was Coran’s niece? He felt utterly mortified as he realized that he had ogled Coran’s niece, and further mortified realizing that he had made himself look like a fool in front of her. 

He really was terrible with first impressions.

“Of course, she won’t be secretary for too long after you leave since you are taking her out to see the city, am I right?” Coran said with raised brows.

Shiro quickly nodded. “Uh, yeah, we’re going out... not like a couple!” He quickly reassured Coran, flushing pink. “I was thinking maybe the center of town? The bridge? A park? You know, fun tourist stuff!”

Coran smiled in amusement. “Mhm. Sounds like quite the plan, but Shiro, may I remind you that we’re here to discuss you, not my niece?”

Shiro nodded aggressively. “Yeah, yeah! Sorry.” He drummed his fingers on his thigh nervously, glancing often at the door as his session went on, half paying attention to Coran and mostly thinking about Allura. 

Thinking about it now, he realized that he probably should’ve realized who she was. She was pretty–no, gorgeous. She was a picture of grace and elegance, with her perfectly manicured hands and plucked brows. Her eyes stood out the most in his mind, however. The only word he could use to describe them was _alluring_.

Allura certainly was the most fitting name for her.

* * *

“No offence Shiro, but you are very dumb.”

Lance crossed his arms across his chest as he glared up at Shiro, his lips in a small pout. Pidge and Hunk burst into laughter from beside him, and Keith allowed a small smile to make an appearance.

Shiro rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. “Yeah, I realized that pretty late. Even Matt made fun of me when I told him what happened later that night.”

Matt snickered. “Shiro, she was literally wearing clothes that only fancy rich people typically wear. I’m afraid I’m going to have to agree with Lance here,” he said, laughing.

“She sounds so pretty,” Hunk said in awe. “Was her hair really white? Were her eyes really that blue? Do you have a picture of her?”

Shiro shook his head. “We took a few pictures together, but I lost them,” he lied. 

Matt quickly stopped laughing and instead only frowned. He and Shiro both knew that was a lie. There was an album dedicated to their summer sitting on the top shelf of their bookcase, dust sitting on the cover. It was an unspoken thing between them to never bring it down. The last time Shiro had been drunk, he had looked through the pictures, and Matt really did not want to see him cry like he did that night anymore.

“That sucks!” Lance cried. “Did she take pictures of you guys? Where was your first date?”

“Yeah, she took some. Don’t know if she ever kept them, though,” he mused aloud.

“She still sucks,” Keith declared.

He was met by five annoyed looks, three from his friends, and two from Shiro and Matt.

He blinked. “What?”

Shiro stared at him before letting out a small chuckle, looking down at the palm of his flesh hand. “She was everything but bad. Apart from being beautiful, she had an amazing personality.”

* * *

Shiro walked out of Coran’s office slowly after thanking the man, carefully walking towards Allura as quietly as he could. 

As soon as he rounded the corner, he spotted her still at the front desk. He leaned on the wall, a small smile on his face as he watched her flip through stacks of papers, writing something down in what seemed to be a notebook. With her cheek resting on her knuckles, her eyes half lidded and her lips slightly parted, she looked like an angel.

Shiro let out a small sigh before peeling himself off the wall, finally making his way towards Allura. He stood directly in front of her, awkwardly looking around before clearing his throat.

Allura looked up quickly, her perfectly plucked brows raised in surprise before she eased into a playful smile. “Ah, Shiro! Is your session over?”

Shiro sent her a lopsided smile. “Yeah, it is. So um...uh…”

Allura put both her elbows up on the desk, letting her chin fall into her knuckles as she stared up at him through her lashes, her smile growing.

“So… do you have anything special to do after this?” She asked, quirking a brow.

Shiro chuckled. “Kinda…? If you want to, that is,” he said awkwardly, bashfully looking anywhere but her.

Allura let out a laugh, Shiro’s gaze immediately returning to her as he felt a blush spread over his cheeks. 

“Aw, you figured it out? Pity,” she said, shaking her head, “I was having so much fun teasing you!”

Shiro let out a snort. “Actually, Coran told me. Nearly gave me a heart attack when he did, too.”

Allura tilted her head to the side. “Why would that give you a heart attack? Did he not tell you beforehand what I looked like?”

“Coran didn’t tell me anything except a bit of your personality, and even then, I was still at loss at what kind of a person you were going to be,” he confessed. “If I’m going to be honest, I was a bit concerned at how I was supposed to treat you as well.”

Allura frowned. “Why’s that?”

“Well, Coran did tell me that you come from England, and I’m pretty sure that he mentioned that you were rich…”

“Ugh,” Allura said in disgust. “Of course he had to bring that up. Look, I may be rich, but I can assure you that I won’t be a pain to handle. All I really want to do is sight see a bit. England gets boring after you live there your entire life,” she said with a small smile.

“I can imagine it does,” he said warmly.

Allura flashed him a smile in return before clearing her own throat, extending a hand towards Shiro. Shiro only stared at it dumbly, raising a brow in confusion.

“Hi. I’m Allura, and I came from England to visit my uncle. I’m twenty two, and I love ferryboats. And you?”

Shiro blinked before letting out a small chuckle, reaching out to take her hand.

“Hi. I’m Shiro, and I’ve lived in Altea for my entire life. I am also twenty two, and I love the stars. Welcome to Altea.”

They firmly shook hands before letting go. Looking at each other, they promptly burst into a fit of giggles, Allura putting a hand up to her mouth to try and hide her smile while Shiro only shook his head in amusement.

“We should get going if we want to actually do something interesting today,” he said, motioning towards the door.

Allura immediately perked up, looking at Shiro excitedly. “Oh yes! Of course! Just let me gather my things and we can leave.”

She quickly started picking up her papers and stuffed them into a folder, stashing it in her handbag. Shiro watched her carefully pick up the book that she had been writing in, Allura carefully placing her pen inside of it before also stuffing it gently into her bag. She lifted her head to smile at him before rounding the desk, making her way towards Shiro.

She stood in front of him, gripping onto her handbag tightly. “So?” She asked, looking up at him with a shy smile, “where to now?”

* * *

“Aw! Shiro is sooooo in love!” Lance swooned, putting a hand up to his head before falling dramatically into Hunk’s shoulder.

“Allura sounds like a really fun person...like you, Matt!” Hunk said excitedly.

“Yeah, that’s why they’re boyfriends,” Keith said bluntly.

“For the last time, we are not boyfriends!” Matt whined, putting his hands up to his cheeks in embarrassment. 

Pidge made a gagging noise. “Shiro, you sound so in love in Allura. No wonder you scared Matt off when Allura came around!”

Shiro laughed. “Actually, I didn’t scare Matt off. He met Allura the same day I did, and let’s just say that he was very uh… excited to meet her.”

* * *

Shiro let a laugh escape his lips as Allura recounted to him her experiences with Coran while she grew up, watching her out of the corner of his eye as he drive down the road towards his and Matt’s shared apartment.

“One time, he took me to zoo instead of taking me to my violin lesson, and instead of seeing animals, I ended up watching him fall into the lion pit. He hit his head so hard that instead of freaking out like any sane person would, he began to get into a boxing stance in front of the alpha lion!” SHe exclaimed loudly, throwing her hands in the air.

Shiro chuckled. “Something tells me that that wasn’t even the wackiest Coran thing you ever got to witness. Am i right?”

“Of course you’re right! It’s Coran, Shiro. This man may be a pretty good therapist, but he’s had had many, many confusing experiences back in his ‘Glory Days’ as he likes to put it.” She shook her head. 

“I still don’t know know how he came to become a therapist. If you ask me, he’s the one who needs a therapist.”

Shiro let out a snicker. “Well, he is pretty good at giving advice. Must come from years of having to patch himself up after his crazy adventures.”

Allura giggled. “I suppose you’re right.”

They sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes, Allura looking out the window curiously as Shiro drove them back to his place. 

“The houses in this area are not at all what I am accustomed to,” she said lowly, taking out a camera from her bag and snapping pictures of the buildings. 

Shiro quickly glanced at her before turning his attention back to the road. “That’s because the houses here are built to be for simple practical usage, unlike in England where I’ve been told that buildings are meant for beauty.”

“This is going to sound really shallow, but I have never been outside of the outskirts of the rich part of England,” Allura confessed, flushing a shade of pink. 

Shiro raised his brows. “Really? Not even for a stroll in town or something?”

“The area that I live in belongs to the high first class aristocracy. We live in Victorian style mansions and only interact with one another whenever there is a wedding or large birthday party. We do go on occasional shopping sprees, but it’s only occasionally. Most of the time we have our personal tailors make clothes for us,” she said, crossing her arms across her chest. 

“Sounds like you guys are still living in the eighteenth century,” Shiro joked, flashing Allura a smile. 

“It’s so stupid,” Allura complained. “I’ve spent my entire life being coddled by old women who treat me like a doll that they can dress up. Ever since my mother passed away, the old ladies at the castle and my neighbors have been driving me insane!”

Shiro whistled. “Guess it’s not easy being rich.”

“Haha. Very funny,” Allura said dryly. “You don’t get it, Shiro. It’s terrible! Your freedom is limited and you don’t even go to normal school because you have special tutors. You’re forced to learn how to play at least two or three instruments and various languages.”

“So they’re training you to become royalty. Gotcha.”

“It’s completely terrible. Then they tell you to sit up straight like a lady and to not ride a horse like a man because apparently that’s a huge crime,” she said in disgust. “Then they betroth you to men who they think will make the best fit for you. Terrible, I tell you.”

“People still do that?” Shiro asked in shock. “I thought that was only in the olden times.”

“Rich people do a lot of crazy things.”

Shiro raised a brow. “So if they’re so strict, how come you’re here and not there? I would’ve thought that they would’ve kept you there instead of letting you fly off to some other country.”

Allura smirked. “I may or may not have lied to them about having to come to ‘save Coran’ and return him to his ‘good English ways’.

Shiro gaped at her. “Are you serious? And they believed you?!”

“Listen, my father was more than willing to send me here. He wanted me away from the castle for...special reasons,” she said carefully. “The point is, they ate it up and called me a model brave citizen for attempting to bring Coran back.”

“You’re not going to do that though, right?”

Allura snorted. “Of course not. In fact, if I had a chance to run away, I’d definitely stay with him here. Altea lacks the stupid social hierarchy that I’m forced to live with until I die.”

“Yep. It’s good to not be judged for walking around with a spaghetti stain on your shirt the entire day,” Shiro said proudly. 

Allura let out a snort of laughter, turning around to face Shiro with a huge amused smile. 

“I take it that you’ve done it before, then?”

“Well not on purpose,” Shiro replied, turning onto his street. “I did it one time after going out for dinner with my roommate. He didn’t tell me, even when some girls started looking at me.”

“Well that seems kind rude,” she said through a smile.

“It’s okay. You can just say that it’s funny.”

She giggled. “Yes, it is rather funny.”

Shiro sent her a smile before parking in front of his apartment, letting out a groan as he noticed Matt standing in the doorway to the entrance of their shared apartment. 

Allura tilted her head to the side as she watched Shiro unbuckle his seat belt and get out of the car, arching a brow. 

“Are you alright?”

Shiro nodded. “Yeah. I just have to get something from my roommate.”

She nodded. “Alright.”

She watched him walk towards the entrance of the building, raising a brow watching the two interact. 

Matt let out a loud laugh as Shiro talked to him, gesturing wildly at himself and around him. 

“So let me guess? You’re absolutely smitten with this chick, huh?” Matt said, smirking. 

“I am not,” Shiro said defensively. “Look, I just came to get my wallet and leave.”

Matt wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. “Can’t trust yourself around a beautiful lady, can you?”

“Have you seen her? She’s a literal goddess!” Shiro whisper yelled, the heat rushing up to his cheeks. 

“Can’t say I have,” Matt said cheekily. “Hey, you should invite her over for dinner sometime!”

“Matt, please. My wallet.”

Matt rolled his eyes before digging into his back pocket, pulling out Shiro’s wallet and putting it in his hand. 

“You know, the least you could do is introduce me to her. You’ve been talking so much about her, and now that she’s finally here I can’t even meet her? You are a cruel man, Shiro,” Matt said while putting his hands to his hips. 

Shiro let out a breath of annoyance. “Fine. Just… please don’t scare her off. I have to spend my entire summer with her, and the last thing I need is for her to think I’m creepy and weird because you can’t keep your comments to yourself.”

Matt rolled his eyes. “Psh. As if I would ever do that!” He said, smirking as he sauntered towards the car, Shiro following closely behind him.

Allura looked up from her lap as she heard a tap on the glass, whipping around to face Shiro and Matt in alarm. She relaxed into a smile upon noticing that it was Shiro, and lowered the car window.

“Yes, Shiro?”

“My roommate is kinda being a huge pain about meeting you, so he’s going to introduce himself,” he said, glancing behind him, “like a normal person.”

Allura nodded. “Alright.”

Shiro let out one final sigh before stepping aside, glancing wearily at Matt. Matt could only gape at Allura as she extended a hand out towards him, her lips curled up into a polite smile.

“Hello! I am Allura.”

Matt went slack jawed, numbly extending his own hand and shaking hers. “I… woah,” he said, eyes wide. “You’re even prettier than Shiro described!”

Shiro kicked Matt in the leg from beside him. “Matt!” He hissed embarrassedly through clenched teeth, feeling the heat rise in his cheeks.

Allura blinked before breaking out into a smirk. “Oh? I’ll take that as a compliment then,” she said, resting her eyes on Shiro before playfully winking at him.

Shiro sweared he died right there and then. This is it. _I’m dead, gone, deceased_. 

He paid no attention to the conversation that Allura and Matt were having, instead choosing to stare at the woman in the front seat of the car with a lovestruck expression. He smiled dopely listening to Allura laugh at one of Matt’s corny jokes, with only one thought running through his mind.

He was absolutely so gone for Allura.

* * *

“That is so cute!” Lance squealed, clutching his hands together. 

“I can’t believe you fell in love with a girl on the first day you met her,” Keith said, critically staring up at his brother. 

Hunk rolled his eyes. “You make that sound like it’s a bad thing.”

“It is if she left him after summer,” Keith shot back, crossing his arms across his chest. “Don’t you agree?”

“No,” Pidge said, glaring at him. “She made Shiro happy, don’t you agree?”

“Well, yeah…”

“Then stop complaining about her! I wanna hear the entire story, not your complaining.”

Lance and Hunk cheered for her, Pidge smiling smugly while turning around to face Shiro.

“What happened on your first day out?” 

Shiro laughed. “That same day was our first day out together, and it was what sealed my fate.”


	3. Oleanders

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Allura and Shiro realize just how smitten they are for each other, and get pulled down to earth by Coran and Matt respectively. Carnival games and a heart to heart on the boardwalk also do not help their situation at all.

Allura let out a laugh as Shiro failed to hit another target, holding a stuffed animal in her arms, a lollipop dangling loosely between her fingertips. 

“Why do they make these games so rigged?” Shiro complained, slouching in his seat as he tried to aim the dart at another balloon, only to watch it fall to the ground. 

“I don’t think that’s the problem,” Allura said, hiding her smile behind her stuffed animal. 

“Well then I don’t know what it is. What I know is that it is definitely not because I’m a bad shot,” Shiro said, pouting as he stared at the last dart in his hands. 

“Oh yes, definitely not because you have terrible aim.”

Shiro sent her a bemused look. “You’re just having a blast over there laughing at my misery, aren’t you.”

Allura gasped. “Who, me? I would never!” She said in mock innocence. 

“Mhm,” Shiro said suspiciously. “If you can laugh at my misery, why don’t you try to throw the last dart?”

Allura rolled her eyes. “I’d rather let you finish your game before playing myself, thank you very much.”

“Afraid that I’ll do better?” Shiro challenged teasingly. 

“No,” Allura replied with a smirk, “I’m afraid that you’ll get butthurt over me doing better.”

“That’s not going to happen,” he said stubbornly, turning back around to aim at another balloon. 

Allura shrugged. “If you say so.”

Shiro only glanced back her briefly before extending his arm and throwing the dart, the dart hitting the empty spot next to another balloon.

Allura burst out into a fit of laughter, not even bothering to hide her smile as she watched Shiro stand up dejectedly. 

“I literally do not understand this game at all. It’s so rigged,” Shiro said, slightly glaring at the game. 

Allura chuckled. “As adorable as it is watching you complain like a child over a carnival game, I’m going to have to ask you to step aside so I can show you who the real dart master is.”

She walked over towards him with a smirk, placing her stuffed animal in his arms. With a wink, she sat down in the same seat he had been in, sliding three dollars over to the person in the booth. 

Grabbing the darts, she grinned as she turned her head back around to face Shiro. 

“Let a pro show you how it’s really done.”

Shiro flushed a shade of red as he watched her grab a dart, her brows furrowed in concentration, and her lips slightly parted. He watched as her lips curled into a grin as she aimed a dart, hitting the dead center of the balloon. She did the same for the remaining two, both of them hitting dead center without fail. 

Shiro sweared he could feel his insides melt as she turned around to flash him a triumphant smirk.

Oh, he was so whipped for this woman. 

“Who’s the champion now, Shiro?” She teased, standing up and putting her hands to her hips. 

The employee behind her asked which stuffed animal she wanted, temporarily distracting Allura. It gave Shiro enough time to turn around and let out a silent scream, running a hand tiredly over his cheek. 

_Pull it together, Shiro. She’s only here for the summer. She’s only a girl, for crying out loud… a very cute girl. Wait, no!_

“Ahem.”

Shiro whipped around quickly, a blush still evident on his cheeks. “Yes, Allura?”

She extended her arms, showing off a giant black lion that she had won. “Clearly I am the superior dart player,” she said, obviously pleased with herself. 

Shiro let out a breath of air. “Psh. You just got lucky,” he said, regaining his composure. “I let you win.”

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” she said, rolling her eyes. 

Shiro grinned. He looked down at the stuffed black lion in her arms, tilting his head to the side as he observed it curiously. 

“Why black? I thought you would’ve gone for another pink one,” he said, gesturing a the stuffed pink lion in his own arms. 

Allura smiled shyly. “You won me a pink lion at the water squirt game, so I thought that I might as well do the same for you...with a different colored lion, of course,” she said quickly, a flush spreading over her cheeks. 

Shiro blinked before smiling softly. 

“Really?”

“Of course! I can’t just let you have all the generosity points,” she said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. 

“Well, then I’ll trade you the pink for the black,” he said, holding the stuffed pink lion in front of him. 

Allura grinned, passing Shiro the black lion while taking back her pink lion. “Thank you, Shiro.”

Shiro nodded, gesturing put in front of him sillily, attempting a mock bow. “After you, your highness.”

Allura gagged. “Ugh. Don’t do that!” she whined, slapping his hand gently. 

“Then what should I call you? Princess? Queen?”

“Oh my god,” she said, covering her face in embarrassment, “Just call me by my name, Shiro! A-l-l-u-r-a. Allura!”

“I like Princess better,” he said, flashing her a grin. 

Allura shook her head, peering up at him over the tips of her fingers. “Are you always this flirty with girls you give tours to?”

“Nope. You’re the first,” he said, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his jeans. 

“The first girl you’ve flirted with, or the first one you’ve taken out on a tour? Because the two are very different,” she said, amusement evident in her tone. 

Shiro shrugged, “Both I guess? I don’t really flirt with girls, or anyone for that matter. And they don’t flirt with me because, well…” He trailed off, gesturing towards his prosthetic. 

Allura pursed her lips. “Well if they’re looking at that rather than your personality, then they are shallow and self centered. I’ve only been here with you for a day and I already know that you’re amazing.”

Shiro smiled. “Thank you, Princess.”

Allura groaned. “Ugh, Shiro! Stop it!” 

Shiro only winked at her before motioning for her to follow him, the two walking down the boardwalk, stuck in their own little world while the other masses of people milled about them. 

“Have you ever been to a boardwalk?” Shiro asked after a few moments of silence. 

Allura let out a snicker. “Shiro, I’ve gone to beaches. I’m not that holed in, you know.”

“Hey, I’m just asking!” He said, putting a hand up in front of him defensively. “You did say that you grew up with some pretty uptight people.”

Allura hummed, looking up at him with a playful smirk. “Well you’re certainly chatty now. What happened to that flustered man at the reception desk a few hours ago?”

Shiro let out a small breath, tilting his head up to look at the night sky. 

“I’ve always been in love with the night. It makes me open up, to an extent. Ever since I was a kid, I always dreamed about becoming an astronaut, maybe meeting aliens while I was at it, too.”

Both he and Allura chuckled at that, the two deciding to sit on a bench in front of an arcade. 

“Aliens? You truly believe there’s foreign life out there?” Allura asked curiously. 

“I used to when I was seven or eight. I stopped believing after a while. My roommate Matt, however?” He let out a snort of laughter. “He’s convinced there are purple aliens out there that want to take over the world.”

Allura grinned. “Purple aliens? Why, that sounds as if it were out of a children’s fairy tail!”

“He’s watched too much TV,” Shiro said, his lips curling into a smile. “Matt may believe in aliens, but you know what I believe in?”

“What?”

“I believe in the beauty of the stars,” he said, letting his gaze travel upwards once more. “I wanted to be an astronaut, not because of the aliens or fame, but just because I wanted to be close to the stars. Something about them just… make me feel at ease, you know what I mean?”

Allura nodded. “I do,” she said softly. “I myself have been a fan of the stars since I was a child, although I never dreamed about being an astronaut.”

“I dreamt of being an astronaut since I was a little kid,” Shiro said, his eyes traveling downwards, his attention trained on his shoes. 

“I fought hard to get into the Garrison, a university that trains cadets to become space explorers. I was the top of my class, and I was about to go on a mission to Kerberos.”

“About to?”

“About to,” Shiro confirmed. “When I was accepted as the pilot for the Kerberos mission, Matt and a few friends of ours decided to throw a party. They were celebrating me, Takashi Shirogane, who had fought everything to get there, including a life threatening disease!”

He chuckled coldly. “They were celebrating what we thought was going to be a new beginning for me, not knowing that my life purpose and dream would come to an end just a few hours later.”

“That same night, I ended up getting into a car crash. It wouldn’t have been such a big deal if I hadn’t gotten majorly injured, but the car we were traveling in was crunched so badly that it was a miracle anyone survived. Matt got the least of the injuries, and only escaped with a broken arm and leg. Me?”

He tightened his grip around himself, feeling his body start to shake. 

“The semi truck crashed into the driver’s side where I was, and he was going at such a high speed that we couldn’t even register what had happened until we were in the ambulance, half alive and half dead,” he said, his nails digging into his arms. 

“I was the one driving that night. I ended up paying the highest price. I lost my arm, fractured my ribs and punctured a lung, broke my legs in three different places, but you know what sucked the most out of all of that?”

Allura looked at him in concern. “What?”

“Knowing that no matter what happened or how I healed, I would never get to go to space. I would never get to live out my childhood dream that I had worked so hard for. I would never get to be who I wanted to be because some idiot decided that it was a good idea to drive while drunk going at a speed of more than one hundred miles per hour,” he said sadly. 

Allura looked at him as if someone had stabbed her in the chest, her eyes brimming with tears. They were tears of sadness, but they were also tears of anger. 

“Shiro, I’m so sorry…” She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, squeezing it tightly. 

Shiro let out what sounded like a small laugh from the back of his throat, turning to look at Allura with a sad smile. 

“Why? You didn’t have any part in it.”

“I’m so sorry that they took what you loved the most away from you,” she said quietly, letting her tears start to fall. “I’m sorry that you had to go through all that pain because someone couldn’t be responsible.”

Shiro watched her cry, his eyes softening as he watched her let her tears fall freely, not caring that anyone was watching her or whispering about her as they passed. To anyone on the outside, it looked like a breakup.

To Shiro, it looked like an angel weeping.

“Hey,” he said softly, tilting her chin up, “if I told you this, it wasn’t for you to cry over it. Like Coran once told me, there’s no use crying over spilled milk. Whatever happened in the past happened already, and even though it still hurts, all we can do is forgive and move one.”

“They still didn’t...have to do that to you,” she said quietly, rubbing her eyes with the sleeve of her sweater. “The world is so cruel, Shiro. I’m so sorry you had to go through that.”

“It’s made me stronger, even if it makes me angry and hurt everytime that I realize what happened,” Shiro said, averting his gaze from Allura’s face to his shoes. 

“There’s nothing you could’ve done before, and there’s nothing you can do now. What happened, happened. All we can do now is move on, and try to build ourselves back up again.”

Allura sniffled. “And here I was, thinking about complaining more about the restriction of freedom.”

Shiro chuckled lightly. “Oh by all means, if you want to continue your rant, then go ahead. I have the rest of the summer to listen.”

Allura nodded and smiled at him through her tears, wiping away her remaining tears. 

“You are so selfless, Shiro.”

“Freedom is everything,” he said, looking up at the sky wistfully, “and I understand why you’d feel so upset about having it restricted. If I lived like that, I think I would be dead by now,” he joked. 

Allura let out a snort, drying out her remaining tears. “I’ve felt dead ever since I was twelve and began having to interact with pricks who liked poking fun at my dress.”

Shiro sat back in his seat, relaxing and placing his stuffed black lion in his lap. 

“Something tells me we’re going to be in for a long night,” he said, amusement dripping in his tone. 

Allura harrumphed. “I’ve been living with this pent up inside me since I was old enough to understand just how limited I was in my life. You’re going to be here for a long while.”

Shiro grinned. “For some reason, that doesn’t bother me at all.”

* * *

“You guys are so cute!” Hunk squealed, hugging himself tightly. 

“You took her to a carnival?” Pidge asked, eyes wide. “Matt doesn’t even take me, and I’m his sister!”

“You are not my girlfriend,” Matt said dryly. “Those are date ideas. Not ‘babysitting for the kid who won’t sit still’ ideas.”

Shiro laughed. “Yeah, I took Allura to the carnival.”

Keith wrinkled his nose. “How is that sightseeing?”

“The beach, duh,” Lance said, rolling his eyes. “Don’t be stupid, Keith–I mean, dumb!” He said, eyes wide as he covered his mouth and turned his eyes to Matt. 

Matt only shook his head. “This is why your mom won’t let Veronica watch over you anymore.”

Keith let out a bored sigh. “Shiro, what’s the point of naming your boat Allura if you only spent one day with her?”

Shiro rolled his eyes. “You obviously weren’t listening, because I told you that I spent my entire summer with her.”

“And they fell in love on the first day they met each other,” Lance gushed, smiling so hard that Shiro was afraid his cheeks would stay like that permanently. 

“That’s so cute and disgusting,” Pidge said, tilting her head to the side. “It’s cute because Shiro is happy, but disgusting because he probably kissed Allura.”

Matt snorted, turning his head to the side. He smirked. 

“Oh yeah. They probably did that.”

Shiro flushed red, glaring at Matt from the corner of his eye. 

“Okay then! Is that enough to satisfy you guys about why I named my boat Allura?”

“No!” Lance screeched, launching himself into Shiro’s arms. “We wanna hear everything, Shiro!”

Shiro raised a brow. “Really?”

“Yeah,” Keith said, pouting. “I mean, it’s boring and whatever, but we wanna know why she isn’t here now with you.”

“Way to sugarcoat it,” Matt murmured sarcastically. “You couldn’t have just said, ‘we wanna know why Allura is the name of your boat’ like everyone else asks?”

“But it’s true,” Keith insisted. “Allura isn’t even here. What happened to her?”

Lance gasped loudly. “Did she die?”

“Jesus Christ, no!” Shiro said in alarm, his eyes flying wide open. “No, she did not die!”

“Then why is she not here?” Hunk asked, joining Keith and Lance’s interrogation. “Did she want to leave you?”

“She’s rich, Hunk,” Pidge said, rolling her eyes. “She lived in England! She couldn’t stay here forever, you know.”

“So if she didn’t die… and you spent your entire summer together…” Lance mused aloud, furrowing his brows slightly in thought, “does that mean that you went on more dates?”

Hunk smiled widely. “Ooh! When did you guys start dating?” 

Shiro sent them a weary smile. “You guys sure do love to ask questions, huh.”

“We have like six hours until sunset, Shiro,” Matt said in obvious amusement. “You're going to spend the entire time that you were supposed to be cleaning your boat on talking about why it has its name.”

“Great,” Shiro said sarcastically. “Just what I needed.”

Matt only shrugged. “You brought this upon yourself, man.”

“Your sincerity is so greatly appreciated,” Shiro responded dryly. 

“I try.”

“Stop flirting and tell us more about Allura!” Lance screeched, tapping his fingers on his thighs rapidly in annoyance. 

Shiro grimaced. “Okay, okay!” He relented, “but sit back. It only gets crazier after the first day.”

* * *

“You jinxed me.”

Matt raised his gaze from the book he had been reading, his lips twitching in amusement as he heard the front door slam shut. 

“Well hello to you too,” he said, watching Shiro trudge across the carpet. “I take it that date went well then?”

“It wasn’t a date,” Shiro groaned, throwing himself face first into a couch. 

Matt sent him an unimpressed look. “Really? Because the stuffed animal and your red face says something completely different.”

“Matt!” Shiro whined, digging his head further into the couch. 

Matt sighed. “What was the first thing I told you when you had to meet Allura?”

“To not fall in love with her.”

“And what did you do?”

“... became completely smitten with a girl who lives across the Atlantic Ocean,” Shiro said dejectedly. 

Matt grinned. “Do you ever listen to me? You’re going to suffer so bad when the summer’s over and she goes back home.”

“But that’s the thing,” Shiro said, finally turning around to lay on his back, staring at Matt. 

“She doesn’t want to go home at the end of the summer. What if we get a cabin in the middle of nowhere and just… stay there forever? She’ll teach me archery and how to cook.”

Matt rolled his eyes. “Yeah, and you’ll grow red hair and a beard and go fishing every weekend with the boys,” he deadpanned. “Shiro, you sound like a lunatic!”

“Yeah, I know,” Shiro sighed dejectedly. “But Matt, you just don’t get it. Allura is unlike any girl I’ve ever met!”

“No girl can be that amazing,” Matt said, frowning. 

“But she is,” Shiro insisted, closing his eyes and smiling dopely. “Her smile is like the sun itself, that’s how bright she shines. In her blue eyes, you can see galaxies… and her laugh sounds like an chorus of angels singing.”

“Oh my god, you are so whipped,” Matt said incredulously. “Shiro, you do realize she’s not going to be around forever, right?”

“Yes, thank you for reminding me,” Shiro said dryly. “You just don’t get it, Matt! Have you ever met a person and just felt this tiny spark the first time you met them?”

A funny look crossed Matt’s face, almost like he wanted to say something, but decided against it. 

“All I’m going to say is that you better be careful with her. She’s rich, comes from England, and is going back there by the end of the summer. You don’t even know if you’re in love or just infatuated, for crying out loud!”

“I have decided that I am in love,” Shiro said, throwing his stuffed lion over his head. 

Matt scoffed. “That’s impossible. No one can fall in love with a person in a day. If they did, that’d be cheap love.”

“But it’s still love.”

Matt shook his head. “Just… be careful, Shiro. Something tells me that things aren’t as crystal clear as you see them.”

“Now you’re just being mean.”

“Whatever you say, Takashi,” Matt said, letting out a sigh. 

Shiro ignored him in favor of letting out another loud groan. 

Of course he knew he was being crazy by imagining that he and Allura could have a possible future together. They had only just met today, for crying out loud! She had duties and responsibilities in England, and he couldn’t offer anything except a home to share and a crazy plan to run away into the woods to a cabin where no one would find them. 

Boy, he really was going crazy. 

But no matter what Matt said about his and Allura’s love, or whatever it was, being cheap, he knew it was the opposite. There was a spark there, a connection that ran deep through both of them. He felt more peaceful around her, as if he found an island for his ship to land on. 

It almost felt like he was coming home.

He was so gone for her. 

Xxxxxxx

Meanwhile, Allura was having the same crisis in Coran’s home. 

“It’s not fair,” she complained, slouching in her chair and laying her head on the dining room table. “I love it here, and I don’t want to leave!”

“Do you really love it here it or do you love Shiro?” Coran asked, raising a brow. 

“Coran!” She hissed, her cheeks burning. “Do not joke like that!”

“Allura my dear, I may have left you and England behind three years ago, but I still know you as if you were my own child. Your face is glowing, and you have this excited look in your eyes. You only get that look when you’re truly happy… or infatuated with someone.”

Allura let out a whine from the back of her throat. “That’s nonsense! You make me sound as if my face were an open book!”

“That’s because it is,” Coran insisted. “The last time you got that look on your face was when you were twelve and in love with the Sincline child.”

Allura scoffed. “Please, Coran. I left England because of him. Don’t mention his name.”

“That’s the point,” Coran said, sitting in the chair across from her. “You left England to avoid the one you loved before, and now you come to Altea and suddenly become all starry eyed after one day out with Shiro.”

“Nonsense,” Allura insisted stubbornly, “I’ve always been starry eyed!”

“Say what you want, but I am not buying it.”

Allura groaned. “Okay, what if I was, as you say, infatuated with Shiro? What do I do?”

Coran smirked. “Are you… giving in?”

“No!” She shouted embarrassedly, shooting upright in her chair. “It’s just that…”

She looked down at the glass of water in front of her, staring at her own reflection. She let her head rest on her knuckles, playing with the rim of the glass with her fingertips. A small, shy lovestruck smile appeared on her lips not even five seconds later. 

“He’s so kind, Coran. He’s been hurt, but he doesn’t let that get in the way of his life. He’s gentle, and cares about everything so much. His eyes are a beautiful shade of brown, and his smile…” 

She let out a sigh, smiling dopely while playing with the rim of her cup. 

“...his smile lights up the sky. He’s like the stars themselves, and such a kind soul. Those are so rare to find, that when I find one, I can’t help but feel like… we were destined to meet.”

Coran let out a wistful sigh. “Ah, to be young and in love. What I would give to have that blissful feeling once more.”

“I just… feel at peace, Coran. Is that weird? I’m smitten with a man who I just met,” she laughed, her cheeks pink. 

“It is weird if you consider why you’re here, Allura,” Coran said, his smile replaced with a frown. 

Allura’s smile slipped, her face turning somber. 

“You don’t need to remind me again, Coran. I know why my father sent me here.”

“Does Shiro know?”

Allura turned her head to the side, her silence giving her away. 

Coran sighed. “Of course you didn’t tell him. Allura,” he said disappointedly. 

“I know, I know!” She said frustratedly, “but I can’t ruin what we have! Coran, my engagement in England isn’t even finalized yet. The Sincline family is still fighting for my hand, but you know that both Lotor and I don’t want to get engaged to each other.”

“You can’t lead Shiro on, no matter how unofficial your engagement is,” Coran chastised lightly. “The poor boy looked so happy when he talked about you after seeing you at the front desk today.”

“I’m aware,” she said, an uncomfortable smile on her lips. “But Coran, what if we just… ran away?”

“Run away with Shiro? Allura, I love you, but you’ve gone mad if you think that running away from your issues is going to fix them,” Coran said. 

“It’s a hypothetical situation, but imagine it! We’ll get a small yacht all for ourselves, and live our lives as sailors. During the winter, we’ll stay in a cabin tucked away from the public eye, and we’ll be happy!” She said wistfully, letting her head fall on the table. 

“Allura, there is no one more opposed to your engagement to Lotor than me, but it’s your duty. Your father can try to fight it and look for someone else, but it’s simply not realistic. Summer is going to end, and if you don’t go back, Lotor will come looking for you, even if he doesn’t want to,” Coran said sadly. 

“But I don’t want him,” she pouted. “Sure he’s rich, and has been my childhood friend since birth, but I fell in love with him at twelve and out of love at eighteen. He has eyes for that one girl he always talks about, what was her name? Ah yes, Acxa.”

Coran shook his head. “You and I know that’s not how society back at home works. He may want another girl, and you another man, but you’ve been destined to end up together since you two first interacted as babies.”

Allura let out a long sigh. “I know, Coran. I can’t believe I only spent one day with Shiro and now I want to spend the rest of my days with him. Lotor and I never had that kind of spark… not like the one I have with Shiro.”

“You have the summer to spend time with him,” Coran said sympathetically, “But that’s it, Allura. He makes you happy; I can see that, but I can also see how it’s going to end if you two try to start a relationship.”

“In flames?” Allura guessed, looking at Coran with sad eyes. 

“In flames,” he confirmed. “His life is here, in Altea, and yours is back home in England.”

Allura harrumphed. “Why is life so unfair? I’ve spent my life being bossed around by everyone older than me. I’ve never had a proper chance to make a decision for myself, and now that I finally do, I can’t even let it fulfil itself?”

She lowered her eyelids, staring at her glass of water dejectedly. 

“Life truly is cruel. Just because Lotor and I became best friends and did everything together up until a few months ago doesn’t mean I want to get married! Can’t a female be friends with a male without wanting to bang him?”

“Allura!” Coran said, shocked. 

“I’m sorry, but it’s the truth!” She said, furrowing her brows. “We’re fine with each other now, as friends! But people want us to get married, and it’s just…”

She trailed off, closing her eyes to conceal her tears. 

“It’s just not _fair_ ,” she said quietly. 

“I know,” Coran said sadly, reaching out to rub her shoulder sympathetically. “I know.”

* * *

“I can’t believe Matt was a jealous boyfriend even back then,” Keith said in disbelief. 

Matt just stood there, glaring at Keith. “You know what, no matter how many times I say I’m not Shiro’s boyfriend, you are never going to let that go. I might as well just not say anything at this point.”

“Butthurt much?” Pidge muttered under her breath, causing Lance to snort. 

“So you and Allura both fell in love with each other after one day?” Hunk asked in awe. 

“Yeah,” Shiro said with a soft smile, “we kinda did.”

“But she was engaged?!” Lance shrieked, looking crestfallen. “That’s so rude!”

“I told you she was shady,” Keith said, looking proud of himself. 

“Not really, mullet head,” Lance said, calming down and frowning. “She said she loved Shiro too and didn’t want to go back.”

“How do you know how she felt?” Hunk asked, cocking his head to the side. “Did she tell you?”

Shiro smiled somberly. “In a way, she did. But I didn’t find out how she really felt until the day after she left.”

“Allura sounds like what Matt is,” Pidge said. 

Lance raised a brow. “How?”

“Smitten with Shiro!”

The four children on the dock burst out laughing, Keith grinning wickedly as he looked up at Matt and Shiro. 

“They both wanted to get married with him, too!”

Pidge grinned. “And kiss him, too!”

“You are all so annoying,” Matt said, a vein in his temple jumping. 

“Wait, Allura wanted to kiss Shiro?” 

“Duh,” Pidge said, rolling her eyes, “didn’t you hear how she wanted to run away with him on a boat and then go to a cabin?”

“What is with you and cabins?” Keith asked, wrinkling his nose. 

Shiro flushed red. “Please stop asking questions and let me continue my story.”

“Tragic character backstory,” Lance said woefully. “The failed romance! Tragedy! This is a real life princess and knight story.”

“Allura and I met up almost every day in the summer,” Shiro said, looking up into the sunny sky. “We even rented a cabin for a month before she had to go back home.”

“Tell me more, tell me more!” Lance said excitedly, Pidge and Hunk following closely behind. 

“Did she become your girlfriend?”

“Was she everything you dreamed of?”

Shiro chuckled. “Woah, slow down, kids. First, we have to get how we confessed to one another. Then comes the kinda fun, kinda sad part.”

Pidge grinned. “I can’t wait.”

“So it was two weeks after we met when we went to the planetarium…”


	4. Acacias

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro and Allura go on their first not-date, and things quickly start to pick up between them.

Shiro slapped a hand over his head, pressing his phone up against his ear.

"No, yeah, I understand.. No, mom, don't worry. I can take care of Keith today if you're really that busy. Yes, I'm sure that I don't mind... what? Okay, no, stop that. I'm taking him with me today."

Matt poked his head out of his room, arching a brow as he watched Shiro pace up and down the hall.

"No buts! It's decided...yes, I love you too. I'll pick him up in about a half hour."

Shiro hung up and ran his hand through his hair, his brows pinching together. "Great."

"Was that Krolia?" Matt asked, stepping out of his room.

"Yeah," Shiro sighed. "She's going out for a few days on some important business trip, and she asked me to take care of Keith for her until she gets back."

Matt whistled. "Guess you're kinda stuck with Keith for the week then, huh. That sucks, dude. I am so lucky that my parents don't trust me enough with a newborn."

"That's not luck. That's just sad," Shiro said flatly.

"Speak for yourself," Matt said, placing his hands on his hips. "It's saved my ass so many times when I have to do important things and there's no kid for me to take care of."

"You don't do important things though– we're getting off subject!" Shiro said, running his hand down his face. "Matt, what am I going to do? I promised Allura we'd go out today!"

Matt hummed. "Well, there's only thing you can do."

"What?"

"Tell her you can't go, and just take care of Keith until your mom gets back. Simple."

Shiro gaped at him. "I'm not going to do that! I've been planning this specific trip since last week!"

"It's nothing you can't reschedule, man," Matt said, wrinkling his nose. "It's just one day without seeing her. It won't kill you."

"We were going to go the planetarium, Matt," Shiro whined. "You know how much I love that place!"

Matt frowned. "Isn't that what people say is the best place for a first date?"

Shiro flushed pink. "Do they? I had no idea."

"You..." Matt trailed off, scrunching his brows together, opening his mouth to say something before shutting it, deciding against saying whatever he was going to say.

"I what?"

"You're stupid if you think you can take Allura out and take care of Keith at the same time," Matt said, frowning. "He's going to throw a temper tantrum and you're going to just stand there like an idiot not knowing what to do."

"Wow," Shiro said dryly, "you have so much faith in me. Thank you."

"I'm just saying!" Matt said, putting his hands up defensively. "You're not the best when it comes to babysitting Keith outside of our apartment."

"I know, I know," Shiro said dejectedly, "but I really wanted to take Allura to the planetarium."

Matt rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well I wanted a coffee but I got a milkshake after my early morning jog today. We don't always get what we want, Takashi."

Shiro just stood there before letting his shoulders drop, tucking his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

"You're right. I guess I'll just have to tell her that we can't go out today."

Matt felt a pang in his chest as he watched Shiro pull his phone out of his pocket, scrolling down his list of contacts to find Allura's name. His face contorted into a grimace, and he let out a resigned sigh.

"Look... before you call Allura, why don't you just ask her how she feels about Keith tagging along? That way, you can still go out with her if she agrees... you know what I mean?"

Shiro paused, looking up at Matt with wide eyes.

"I can do that?"

Matt resisted the urge to face palm, biting the inside of his cheek.

"Yes, Shiro, you can do that."

"It's not creepy to ask her?"

"Do you want to go out with her today or not?" Matt asked impatiently, "because you're just wasting time standing there and not doing anything."

"But what if–"

"Oh for fucks sake, give me that!"

Matt lunged towards Shiro, snatching his phone out of his grip before the poor man could even register what was happening. With a loud thud, he fell to the ground, clutching Shiro's phone in his hands.

"You are such a coward, oh my god," he hissed, pressing Allura's contact name.

"Wait, no! Don't–!"

"Hello? Shiro?"

Shiro froze up, his body going rigid as Allura's voice filtered through the phone.

"Hi, yeah, Allura? This it Matt."

"Oh, hi Matt! Why do you have Shiro's phone?" She asked, confusion evident in her tone.

"Well, long story short, Shiro kinda has a problem, and he's too much of a coward to directly ask you so I had to step in to help."

"Matt, stop!" Shiro hissed, completely mortified when Allura laughed.

"That sounds like him. What happened now? Does he have to cancel our plans today? I completely understand if he can't go out today, you know."

"Yeah no, he was going to do that, but first he wanted to ask you if you mind having a two year tag along on your d–trip," he said, catching his slip up.

"A two year old?"

"It's my brother," Shiro said weakly, standing besides Matt.

"Yeah, it's his brother," Matt said louder, rolling his eyes at Shiro. "Talk to her, for crying out loud! It's your day out, not mine."

"Matt, please," he said desperately, "give me the phone."

"No."

"Oh come on!"

"I wouldn't mind," Allura suddenly said, silencing the two bickering men. "I can handle a two year old, Shiro."

"O-oh," he said, sending Matt a sheepish smile. "Well, that's good. Should I pick you up at twelve?"

"Sounds perfect!" She chirped. "Matt, thank you for calling me. Heaven knows Shiro won't call if he has a problem."

Matt snorted. "Tell me about it."

"I'm right here, you know."

"I know," Allura said cheekily. "I'll see you later, Shiro. Once again, thank you for calling, Matt."

Matt nodded. "Yeah, you're welcome. Bye Allura."

"Bye."

Matt hung up first, turning to glare at Shiro.

"You are really hopeless, you know. There," he said, throwing Shiro's phone at him, "I fixed your issue. Now I'm going away and leaving you to go get ready for your day out. I swear, if you mess this up–"

"Why are you so angry?" Shiro asked, catching his phone. "I thought you liked Allura."

"I do! I just don't like... you know what? I'm not having this conversation," he said, sending Shiro one final glare. "Just don't mess this up, okay?"

Shiro stared after Matt as he quietly closed the door to his room, raising a brow in confusion.

"Okay...?"

"For today, Takashi! Your date is today!"

"It's not a date!"  
Shiro let out a frustrated sigh. Great. Keith and Allura? Both under his watch at the planetarium?

This was going to be a nightmare.

* * *

"Woah, Keith was messing things up even before he could talk!" Lance cackled, shooting Keith a grin.

"Shut up," Keith hissed, "You are not funny."

"Actually, I am," Lance said smugly. "Even Shiro said that having you there was gonna be a nightmare, and Shiro never lies."

"But does he, though?" Matt murmured under his breath.

Pidge frowned. "Matt, why were you jealous of Allura if you lived with Shiro?"

"I was not," he said tiredly, "people just get tired of other people's stupidity sometimes."

"He was jealous because he wanted Shiro to be his boyfriend, duh," Lance said. "What else would it be?"

"Anything else. Like, everything except that," Matt deadpanned.

"I ain't buying it," Pidge said, staring at her brother suspiciously. "You're a baddd liar, Mattie."

"Who says I'm lying?"

"Guys, please," Shiro said wearily. "Lance, Keith was not 'messing things up even before he could talk', and Pidge, leave your brother alone."

"Defensive boyfriends," Hunk whispered to Lance. "It's like you when James makes fun of Keith!"

"Shh!" Lance said, getting red in the face. "Don't bring me into this!"

"Eugh," Pidge gagged. "All this love stuff is annoying me. If it's not Shiro and Allura, then I don't wanna hear it!"

"Weren't you the one who just called Matt and Shiro boyfriends?" Keith asked, raising a brow.

"Yeah because they are," she said dully, "but Shiro and Allura are not and I wanna know why!"

"But you already know why. Allura was engaged to uh...this funny guy's name. I forgot," he said sheepishly.

"But why? Why did she leave when she didn't even like him? Why didn't she just run away? I need answers, Hunk!" She screeched, aggressively shaking Hunk by his shoulders.

"If you guys stop interrupting so much, we could actually finish the story before sunset," Shiro said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I swear, do you guys never run out of energy or something? Where's your off switch?"

"Don't be dumb, Shiro. We're kids, not toys," Keith said bluntly.

"Thanks. I totally needed that clarification."

"Get on with the story, old man!" Pidge shouted, glaring up at Shiro.

"Jesus Christ, okay!"

* * *

Allura let a laugh escape her lips as she slid into the passenger seat of the car, looking in the back and finding a child wide awake in his car seat.

"Shiro, you didn't mention you had a brother!" she said, reaching a hand out to play with the little boy's hand as Shiro drove onto the main road.

"His name is Keith, and he's going to stay with me for the entire weekend, so we probably won't be able to go out tomorrow," he said, flashing her an apologetic smile. "Sorry about that."

"Oh, don't worry about that. If you need some company taking care of him though, I wouldn't be opposed," she said, smiling as Keith stuck his tongue out at her.

"Really?" Shiro asked, wrinkling his nose. "He can get pretty annoying."

Allura rolled her eyes. "Shiro, I've taken care of babies since I was thirteen. I think I can handle your brother."

"But...Keith is Keith, Allura. He's an entire case of his own!"

Allura raised a brow, turning around to face Shiro. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say that it sounds like you don't want me around."

"What?! No, of course not! I enjoy having you around!"

"That's not what it sounded like to me," she said, frowning. "If I'm being too overbearing..."

"No," Shiro said firmly, making Allura jump slightly in her seat. "You are a joy to have around, Allura. I enjoy having you around, you know. I couldn't imagine my summer without you now."

Allura stared at him with wide eyes. "Really?" She asked in disbelief, her voice a whisper.

"Really," Shiro breathed out, allowing himself to smile. "You make my days less boring. Without you, I'd probably just spend every day of my summer working or sleeping. So no, you're not being too overbearing. You're being you, and that's perfect enough for me."

Allura stared at him for a few moments in stunned silence, her mouth slightly agape. No words came out, and all she could do was look up at him in wonder.

Did he not realize just how much his words meant to her?

"I... I see," she finally said, finally finding her voice again.

"I'm sorry if that was too much," Shiro said quickly, flushing a slight shade of red. "It's just..."

"No, no, it's fine. I just wasn't prepared for it, that's all. The thought is greatly appreciated, though," she said warmly.

"Well, that's good," he said awkwardly, keeping his eyes on the road.

_Great move, Shiro. Just go ahead and tell her you're in love with her while you're at it, too! It's not like she's leaving at the end of the summer and lives across the Atlantic Ocean, right? You're such an idiot–_

"It was kinda sweet, too," Allura said, abruptly breaking his train of thought. "I also consider you to be great company, you know."

Shiro smiled, relaxing in his seat. "Thank you, Princess."

"Shiro!"

Shiro only smirked, ignoring her as she playfully slapped his arm.

Leave it up to him to fall hopelessly in love with a woman who he had only known for two weeks. God, he was such a moron, but at least he had Allura. For now, at least. He had her, and that was enough for him to be happy at the moment.

They rode the rest of the way in silence, Allura focusing more on making goo goo eyes at Keith, who looked more and more unimpressed as she continued to baby him.

Shiro has to resist the urge to laugh as Allura tried to poke Keith's cheek once more, only for Keith to to turn his head away and stare grouchily out the window.

Allura wrinkled her nose. "Well that was rude."

"I told you, Keith isn't like the other kids," Shiro said in amusement. "He can be playful at first but if you annoy him,he does that."

"Becomes an antisocial prick?"

"Allura!" Shiro laughed, "he's a kid! Don't be so butthurt over him ignoring you."

"But I like kids," Allura pouted, "and your brother is positively adorable! Just look at him, Shiro. His eyes and small pout are so cute, I could die!"

"Please don't die over my brother," Shiro said, sending Allura a weary look. "I very much would prefer if you stayed alive, especially since we're here."

Allura raised a brow, quickly turning her upper body around to look out the passenger side window. Her eyes widened as a large dome came into view, posed on top of a large building with many cars parked around it.

"Is this...?"

"It is," Shiro confirmed with a grin as he pulled off the highway and drove into the parking lot.

"Oh my," she breathed out in awe, sticking her cheek against the car window. "I didn't think I'd actually get to go to a planetarium! You certainly are a man of many surprises, Shiro."

"Thanks, I think?"

Keith stopped pouting in his chair and begin laughing as he pointed excitedly. "Ball!"

"Keith, that's a dome."

"Ball," Keith insisted, much to Allura's glee.

"He can talk!"

"He can't tell apart a dome from a ball," Shiro said defeatedly, hanging his head as the car came to a full stop.

"He's a two year old, Shiro."

"I've failed my mom."

"Stop being so over dramatic," Allura said, rolling her eyes. "He's not supposed to know what a dome is, silly. He's practically still a baby!"

"Allura, he's a smart baby," Shiro said, finally turning his face around to face her. "Like, he figured out how to turn on the tv by himself last week, according to my mom."

"That seems pretty normal for a one and a half year old, Shiro," Allura said, raising an unimpressed brow. "Lighten up! He'll say dome when he's ready. Until then, it's totally a ball."

"Why are we arguing over my brother's speech issues?"

"Because you're being a worry wart," Allura said, raising a perfectly manicured finger to poke the tip of his nose gently.

Shiro wrinkled his nose. "I'm not!"

"Oh please," Allura said, stepping out of the car, "you've been worrying since you left your apartment. Need I remind you about the whole Matt incident?"

"I–"

"Stop worrying so much about everything and just have fun," she said softly, smiling as she pulled Keith out of his chair. "We're at the planetarium, and you love space. Just enjoy this day. You can go back to worrying tomorrow."

Shiro stared at her, scrunching his brows together.

"Shiro, just let yourself go," she said, extending a hand towards him. "Even If it's just for today, stop worrying about what's wrong and focus on being more of an optimist."

"Yeah, I haven't been able to do that since my accident."

"Well I'm going to fix that," she said, cradling Keith in her arms. "Let's go, Shiro. Space awaits us!"

Shiro let out a huff of air, staring up at Allura's smiling face with a small pout.

"Your optimism can be really annoying sometimes, you know."

Allura grinned. "But it works, doesn't it?"

Shiro rolled his eyes. "I guess."

He stepped out of the car and walked over the side where Allura was, the woman flashing him a smile before following him towards the entrance with Keith in tow.

Once they paid their tickets, Shiro motioned for Allura to follow him inside. She followed him, frowning when she excused herself after she accidentally slammed into a couple.

"Shiro! Stop going so fast!" she complained with a small huff, finally catching up to him.

"If we don't go fast enough, we aren't going to get seats for the space show!" He whined, pausing in the middle of the crowd.

"Did you completely forget that you have a child here, and not just me?" Allura said, pointing at Keith with her free hand.

Shiro grimaced. "No...?"

"Shiro!" She gasped, looking at him in apall. "He's your brother! How could you forget about him?"

"Why do you care more about my brother than our trip? I've been planning this since the day we met, you know," he said, frowning. "I know Keith is Keith, but I never planned on bringing him here with us. I just wanted it to be the two of us, just you and–!"

"Wait," Allura said, her face flushing red, "is this supposed to be... a date?"

Shiro stared at her in stunned silence, his own face flooding red as he realized the implications of his words.

"What? I–no!" He stuttered, face hot.

Allura lowered her head down, hiding her blush as she took Shiro's hand in her own, curling her fingers around his.

"We're going to be late to the space show," she mumbled, pulling Shiro along through the crowd, her face hot.

_What in the world was she doing?_

"You... Huh?" Shiro asked, completely at loss. "You don't even know the way!"

"There are signs for a reason, Shiro!" She said nodding upwards

Shiro could only stare at the back of her head as he was blindly led along the halls of the crowded planetarium, hand in hand with her. He didn't even register that they had arrived at the space show theater until he was seated, Keith in the middle of his lap.

"The space show will now begin. Please remain seated, and keep the aisles clear of any strollers and bags that may be a hazard to those around you. Welcome to Space Altea."

"You–!" He said, whirling around to face Allura with wide eyes, the words dying in his throat when she put a finger up to his mouth to silence him.

"Space show now, talk later. Calm down," she said reassuringly, reaching out to squeeze his hand. "You worry too much about nothing."

She sat back in her seat, looking up at the giant screen in front of her in awe as the theater began to darken. She held a hand up against her heart as the planets on the screen began to rotate, the ceiling above them littered with hundreds of projected shining stars. Their shadows danced along Allura's skin, the stars themselves twinkling in her light blue eyes.

She looked absolutely gorgeous.

Shiro felt his breath hitch in his throat when she slowly turned around to face him with a soft, shy smile, her eyes boring into his soul. He suddenly felt weak, so very weak, as she turned her attention back to the screen, her hair falling over her shoulders and over her chest.

He was pulled out of his daydream when he felt a small tap on his cheek, making him look down at his brother.

"What?"

"Allura," he said, pointing at the woman in question with a short finger.

"Yeah...?"

"Kiss," Keith said, looking up at Shiro with a determined glare.

Shiro felt the heat creep up the back of his neck as he realized what Keith was implying he should do, letting out a small squeak as he heard muffled laughter from beside him.

"No," he whispered, putting a finger up to Keith's lips, "that is the one thing I will not do today."

"Iss," Keith said, trying to push Shiro's finger off his lips, "Iss!"

"No!" Shiro hissed, putting a full hand over Keith's mouth. "Stop it!"

"Iss!" Keith insisted, trying to bite Shiro's finger, only to receive no reaction from his older brother.

"Shut up," Shiro whispered harshly, feeling the tips of his ears turn red. "You're embarrassing me!"

"Shiro," Allura whispered, keeping her eyes glued to the screen, "you are being too loud."

"I'm sorry," Shiro said meekly, shrinking in his shit while Keith still glared up at him.

"Kiss," he insisted.

"Shut up," Shiro said, pulling a lollipop out of his jean pocket and giving it to him. "Here, take this and shut up."

"Yay!"

Allura hummed in amusement. "Do you bribe the poor child with candy everytime he annoys you?" She whispered, raising a brow.

"I thought you said me talking was too loud," Shiro whispered back, keeping his eyes trained on the large screen in front of him.

"Oh hush you."

Shiro let himself relax in his seat as Keith made himself comfortable in his lap, leaning against his chest and looking up at the ceiling in awe.

"Woah..."

Shiro smiled softly, relieved that Keith had stopped being fussy.

"Kerberos was discovered to be the fourth moon that rotates Pluto, and has been the site of many space explorations made by our very own Garrison..."

Shiro's smile slipped, and he tensed up, gripping the sides of his seat tightly.

Kerberos, Kerberos, Kerberos.

Allura felt him shift at her side, her brows quivering slightly before she turned around slowly to confront Shiro.

"Are you alright?" She asked in a hushed voice, low enough that she wouldn't disturb any of the other people in the room.

"I'm fine," Shiro said, flashing her a shaky smile.

Allura pursed her lips. "Alright..."

She turned her attention back to the screen, Shiro inwardly cursing himself.

Stupid, that's what he was. He thought he was over this, dammit, that Kerberos was just a distant memory, one that he had healed from.

The throbbing, stabbing feeling in his chest said otherwise.

He suddenly felt Allura's fingertips brush over his knuckles, before they settled on uncurling his clenched hand from the seat. The heat crept back up his neck again when she intertwined their heir fingers again, this time gripping onto him tightly rather than letting go.

His head snapped up, and all he saw was her smiling shyly, avoiding looking at him. All he felt was another gentle squeeze, warm and reassuring. It grounded him, and he slowly let go of the seat with with other hand.

Allura was just... calming. Crazy how just one of her hands in his could make him feel grounded, stabilized, and just... calm. He wondered if she was really a human, or an angel sent from above to bring peace to his heart when he needed it the most.

He didn't know, but whatever and whoever Allura was, Shiro never wanted her to leave.

* * *

"I can't believe she made the first move," Pidge said, wrinkling her nose. "I thought guys were supposed to do that."

"Not if they're wimps," Keith retorted, crossing his arms across his chest. "I did not tell you to kiss Allura!"

Lance snickered from his place next to Keith. "And to think that you're the one who hates Allura the most even though you told Shiro to kiss her... talk about irony!"

"I did not tell him to kiss her!" Keith insisted, glaring at Shiro. "Why do you like to lie so much?"

"It wasn't a lie," Matt said, smirking. "You literally fell in love with Allura and cried when I babysat from then on out instead of her."

"How do you forget her?" Hunk said, looking at Keith in disbelief. "She literally is the only other person other than your mom who has openly called you cute!"

Pidge burst out laughing. "Keith? Cute? That's a funny joke!"

"If Allura said it, then it must be true," Lance said, side eyeing Keith, "no matter how untrue it is."

"But you called–"

"Hunk!"

Hunk pouted. "Fine."

"Getting back to the main point, I never liked Allura," Keith said, sticking his nose up in the air. "I only pretended to like her so you would feel better."

Shiro sent him an unimpressed look. "Really? That's why you insisted on going out with both 'Awwura and Shiro' whenever I mentioned to mom that we were going out somewhere," he deadpanned.

Keith flushed red. "Lies! Every word is a lie! Shiro is a liar!"

"That's more you," Lance said, grinning. "Aw! Little Keith did have feelings!"

"I feel nothing but anger and rage!"

"Cute," Matt teased, much to Keith's chagrin.

"Stop! I am made up of nothing but darkness!"

"Is the darkness called love for Shiro and Allura?" Pidge said, batting her eyelashes innocently at Keith.

"My best friend! Betraying me!"

"I thought that was me!" Lance pouted.

"Your status as best friend was revoked as soon as you said I had feelings," Keith retorted, side eyeing Lance. "Besides, I thought you didn't like me."

"We played Pokémon Go at night yesterday! I don't do that with just anyone!"

"Oh ewww," Pidge said in disgust, "Lance likes Keith!"

"I dunno," Hunk said, clasping his hands together, "I think it's kinda cute."

"Ew! Me and Keith? We're best bros for life!"

"Best boyfriends," Pidge taunted, causing Keith to flush red. "Maybe you'll be as lovey dovey as Shiro and Allura!"

"Oh yeah!" Lance perked up, "what happened after she held your hand?"

Shiro chuckled. "Oh boy. That ended up being the best and worst day of my life. Everything after the planetarium was like a dream to me..."

* * *

As soon as the space show was done, Allura pulled Shiro out of the room, clinging onto his arm lightly.

"So what next? Is there more things to see here?"

"The planetarium is connected to a lot of other buildings. It's like one building in this huge museum. We could look at the rockets or other stuff, if you want," Shiro offered.

"That sounds lovely," she said, smiling. Her expression, however, soon turned somber, making Shiro's heartbeat quicken.

"What's wrong?"

"You tensed up as soon as they mentioned Kerberos. Was that...?"

"Yeah," Shiro said quietly, "it was the trip I was supposed to go on. They finally launched the ship for Kerberos a few months ago. I thought I was over feeling upset about it, but I guess I was wrong."

Allura squeezed his arm gently. "Scars take time to heal, Shiro. One day, you'll look back and stand up proud and say to your children, "I was the first man picked, and even though I didn't go, I was the first one picked!"

Shiro chuckled. "Me? Children? No thanks. I have enough with Keith," he said, gesturing at Keith, who was reaching out towards Allura.

Allura blinked. "I thought he didn't like me...?"

"There's a lot of things you thought that aren't true," Shiro mumbled under his breath, sneaking a glare at Keith.

"Yes, your two year old brother is quite the chatterbox," Allura said in find amusement.

"Yes–Wait, What?"

Allura giggled. "Come on, Shiro," she said, pulling him towards the exit, "you have some rockets to show me before you drop me off at home."

Shiro stared after her as she pulled him along, letting himself relax into a lovestruck smile as she led him around. It was funny. She didn't knew where she was going, but she was so excited that it didn't matter to him if they ended up getting lost.

It meant more time to spend with her, anyways.

In the end, they did end up getting lost, but Shiro didn't mind. It was worth seeing Allura's laugh as she realized that they had ended up back at the space theater rather than actually leaving the premises. It was filled with even more laughter when Keith ended up somehow pointing them in the right direction, despite Shiro's suspicions that he was wrong.

They spent the rest of the day just chatting about random life things while simultaneously taking care of Keith, which included feeding him lunch at a McDonald's so he would stop complaining every five seconds that he was hungry. Allura and Shiro ended up buying one ice cream, sharing it between the two of them, and Keith as well.

All in all, everything felt like it was out of a fairy tail. They walked along the edge of the park bordering the planetarium, Shiro pushing Keith in his stroller when both he and Allura got tired of lugging him around in their arms. They fed ducks and just sat there, taking in the sigh as the sun began to set, watching as tourists began to leave since the museum had reached its closing hour.

The ride home felt out of this world, with Keith sound asleep in his car seat, clutching tightly onto a stuffed red lion that Allura had somehow managed to find in the museum. Shiro prefieres not to question it.

Allura was in her chair, and despite her animatedly talking to him, he could sense that she was about to pass out at any given second. Her yawns were more frequent, and he couldn't blame her. They had just passed the entire day walking around like tourists with a baby in tow.

Shiro resisted the urge to laugh as Allura let out a kitten like yawn, rubbing her eyes tiredly.

"Shiro, how much further until we reach Coran's place?"

"Five minutes at most. Why? Is her highness tired?" He teased.

"You're lucky I'm too tired to care about you calling me 'your highness'," she said, slouching in her seat.

Shiro cleared his throat, glancing at her briefly. "I don't get to tell you this earlier, but... you really do look stunning today, Allura. That yellow dress really compliments your skin."

Allura blinked owlishly. "Am I hearing that correctly or am I just too tired?"

"I don't know," Shiro said cheekily, smiling as his cheeks heated up for the umpteenth time that day, "you tell me."

Allura yawned again, leaning her head against the car window.

"You know, for a man who is shy, you sure love flirting with every woman you meet. Are you sure you weren't a player back in your high school days, Shiro?"

"Oh believe me," he muttered under his breath, "I only flirt with the ones I really like."

Allura hummed. "Nice."

Shiro looked at her curiously before turning into her street, parking in front of Coran's house, where the lights in the living room could be seen from the outside.

"Princess, we're here."

Allura sighed, banging her head on the car window. "Already? Coran is going to have your head for not taking me to dinner, you know."

"I offered to go to this really cool diner, and you said no," Shiro complained childishly as he walked out of his car and rounded it to the passenger side, opening the door for Allura.

"I want seafood."

"You rich people and your seafood. I'll never understand you," he said while offering his arm out towards her.

"Well it wouldn't be all that terrible, you know," she said, slipping her own arm around his. "We could get on a ferry boat right after dinner on the docks, and watch the fireworks from afar. It would be nice."

Shiro hummed in agreement. "You have a point. Maybe next time, for our second date."

Allura smiled, hesitantly leaning her head against his shoulder as they walked up the front steps, much to Shiro's surprise.

"You finally admit it was a date then, huh. You keep surprising me in so many ways, Shiro."

The two came to a stop at the top of the stairs, Allura and Shiro turning around to face each other. Neither of them spoke, but their eyes said everything.

All Shiro could see in her eyes was love and willingness, something that he hadn't seen in a long time. In Shiro's eyes, Allura could see fear and hesitation, but yearning was the most prominent feature in them.

She felt a pang in her chest. He wanted her, and she wanted him. There was no way he would react well if she told him about the engagement now.

"Allura..." Shiro began, reaching up to scratch the back of his neck bashfully, "I'm not good with relationships. My first boyfriend who I truly loved died back in high school from leukemia, and I never thought I'd find someone who I'd love now as much as I loved him before."

Allura's eyes widened. "Shiro..."

"I know it's only been two weeks since we met, and I know that it sounds crazy that I fell in love with you, but since the first day I laid eyes on you, I felt this intense sense of yearning. You're everything I ever wanted!"

"Shiro," Allura began again, her features softening into a smile.

"I don't care if you have to leave at the end of the summer; I don't care if you're going back home to England and might never be back. I just want my summer, this summer, to be yours and yours alone. I want to make memories with you that I can look back on and laugh and cry about when you're gone. I don't care if it's just one summer..."

"I just want to be with you, no matter how limited the number of days we have together are."

Shiro felt a finger rest on his lips. He looked up, only to find a smiling Allura, shadows dancing over her skin in the evening sky, her blue eyes full of an emotion that he could not describe. Was it pain? Sorrow? Love?

It seemed like a mix of all three.

"You silly boy. I've wanted the same since the first day we met," she said with a somber smile. "For the last two weeks, you've given me a life that I thought I'd never get a chance to live. You've given me so much... and I want to do the same for you."

Shiro's eyes widened. "Wait... are you saying that... you like me back?"

Allura giggled lightly. "What I'm saying, is that yes, I'm willing to go on a second date with you."

"Even if we only get this chance for this one summer?" He asked quietly, beginning to lean in.

"I'll fight tooth and nail to ensure that it's more than just one summer," she replied, beginning to close her eyes. "I'm... in love with you, Takashi Shirogane."

"And I'm in love with you too, Allura," Shiro breathed out, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Yeah?" She asked, her lips millimeters away from his, breathlessly.

"Yeah," Shiro confirmed, before pressing their lips together in a soft kiss.

Her lips were softer than he imagined, and she smelled like coconuts. Her hair was soft as he threaded his hands in it in pure desperation to get closer to her, Allura gripping his face between her hands.

She let out a soft groan and sigh of content as she finally let her hands roam up to the back of his head, pushing him closer towards her. More, she wanted more. She wanted him to kiss her senseless, so that she forget that this was going to kick her in the ass later.

She didn't care. All that she could think about now was Shiro, Shiro, and Shiro only. She only wanted him, and no one else.

He was a drug that she could get high on without regretting it, and something told her that he felt the same way.

When the finally parted, Shiro let his hands fall to her waist, Allura panting harshly.

"You... wow..."

"I'm sorry," he said quickly, his cheeks burning, "but I can't help it when you're right in front of me. I've got it bad for you, Allura. I'm in love with you."

Allura smiled up at him. "Who says I don't feel the same way?"

Shiro smiled bashfully at her. "You should, probably go inside before Coran wonders what happened to you," he said, averting his gaze.

Allura giggled, placing a hand on Shiro's cheek. "First you take me on a a not official date, kiss me as you drop me off and profess your love to me in the most cliched manner, and then act so shy? You are a mystery, Shiro."

"I won't be a mystery anymore once you let me take you out on another date," Shiro said, smiling innocently.

"Well of course we're going on another one," Allura scoffed, rolling her eyes playfully, "but I'm planning it this time."

"I can't wait for that ferry boat ride."

"Maybe I'll consider renting us a cabin."

"Allura..."

"I'm joking!" She laughed, her eyes crinkling at the sides before she pulled out her house key.

"I'll see you around, Shiro. Don't be a stranger and call, okay?" She said as she stepped into the illuminated hallway.

"I won't," Shiro said, smiling like an idiot.

Allura waved, a blush creeping up her face as she closed the door. "See you soon, Shiro."

"See you soon, Allura."

As soon as the door closed, Shiro let out a scream of happiness, fist pumping his hand in the air excitedly, jumping on the balls of his heels as he practically skipped towards his car.

Allura let out a laugh as she heard him cheer once more before driving away, leaving her leaning against the door, her cheeks still flushed.

"You're home late," a voice spoke up.

Allura whipped her head around quickly, looking like a deer caught in the headlights.

"Coran! I didn't know you were expecting me home earlier," she said, smiling nervously. "I'm just going to... you know, head up to take a shower! Yeah!"

She took off in the direction of her room, leaving a Coran to only look at her in shock.

"Wait! didn't even tell me how your evening went! Allura!"

Xxxxxxxx

"I'm so screwed, Matt."

Matt rolled his eyes, placing a cup on the table. "Hello to you too. I take it the date went well?"

"I have a second one!" Shiro yelled, standing in the kitchen door frame with Keith in his arms.

Matt raised a brow. "Really?"

"Yes!"

Matt hummed, avoiding meeting Shiro's eyes as he sat down at the kitchen table.

"Nice."

"We also might have... kissed," he said shyly, looking down at the tips of his shoes.

Matt's eyes widened and he began to choke on his drink, setting the cup down harshly on the counter.

"Matt? Are you okay?"

"Holy fuck, shit!" Matt said, coughing, "You can't... just say stuff like that!"

"I didn't think you'd choke!" Shiro said defensively.

"Well I did!" Matt said, his eyes still wide. "You seriously kissed Allura?"

Shiro winced. "Is that bad?"

"I mean, it depends on certain points of views," Matt said, grabbing a napkin and cleaning the edges of his lips.

"I know it's so sudden, but I haven't felt like this about anyone in a long time! Not since... well you know..."

"Adam," Matt said softly, looking at Shiro with sad eyes. "Yeah. I know."

Shiro sighed. "Are we doomed to fail? Should I just abandon the idea of going out on a second date?"

Matt inhaled deeply, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Okay, it kills me to say this, but you're more happy than you've ever been, even with me. Allura brought out the fun Shiro I haven't seen in a long time, and I thank her for that."

He sighed. "Of course, I wish that I could've helped with that, but I'm just glad that she makes you feel alive again. It's like... you're finally human again, and not some robot."

Shiro pursed his lips. "So does that mean...?"

"That I approve?" Matt let out a resigned sigh. "Yeah. Yeah, I do."

Shiro smiled gleefully. "Now can I talk with you about our super amazing planetarium date where Keith was my wingman?"

Matt snorted. "Go ahead, man. I've got all night."

He got settled in his seat and watched Shiro ramble about his day with Allura with a small smile on his lips, resting his head on his knuckles.

He thanked whatever force that was up there that Allura had come when she did. She did the impossible.

She saved Shiro.

* * *

"Matt approved?!" Pidge screeched loudly, looking at her brother in aghast. "Why would you do that? That's your–!"

"Boyfriend?" Matt guessed dryly.

"Exactly!"

"They weren't boyfriends back then, you idiot," Keith said, rolling his eyes. "God, you're supposed to be the smart one!"

"I am the smart one," she said smugly.

Lance sighed dreamily. "They has a fairy tail first kiss! Matt is so lucky to have a boyfriend like Shiro."

"Shoot me now," Matt muttered under his breath, much to Shiro's amusement.

"Yeah, it was a fairytale kiss. Afraid that was the only one I've had in a while, though," he said.

"Let Matt give you one," Hunk suggested. "Wait. Would that mean you... cheated on Allura?"

"It's actually the opposite way around, but to each his own," Matt shrugged.

"He's jealous!" Lance shouted, pointing at Matt. "He's jealous of Allura!"

"Allura isn't even here, idiot!" Keith shouted back, slapping his arm.

"I'm not an idiot! I'm a cool ninja sharpshooter!"

"Guyssss," Hunk whined, "let Shiro go on with his story. I wanna actually hear the end by the end of the day. Woah, that rhymed!"

"I agree," Matt said, tilting his head to the side. "If you can keep yourselves from arguing for the rest of the story, I'll get you ice cream. Deal?"

"Shiro finally rubbed off on him!" Lance said gleefully.

"Shiro wants to finish his story before the sun sets," Shiro said dryly. "Especially if we're getting ice cream after this."

"Aw, don't worry," Matt teased, "I'll get you your cookies and cream ice cream."

"I think he only likes that because it's the color of his hair," Keith whispered into Pidge's ear, the girl bursting out in a high pitched laugh.

"Keith," Shiro said tiredly, "I'm old. Let your brother be old in peace."

Matt rolled his eyes, moving from his spot by the pole to sit down next to Shiro.

"Okay, intervention. Since you guys have bothered Shiro so much, it's my turn to tell the story since I was there to see what happened next."

Shiro shot him a grateful look. "Thank you."

Matt grinned. "No problem. Although, I hope you guys don't get too bored. It's only sappy stuff that I'm gonna say."

"Gross! Keep going!" Pidge said.

Matt clapped his hands. "That's the spirit! So, anyways, Allura had the grand idea to organize a double date for us once she found out that Veronica and I were close friends who had tiny crushes on each other."

Lance gasped. "No way! Someone actually liked Veronica? And it was you?!"

Matt nodded."Allura took us out with her and Shiro to a beachside restaurant, and I've never been able to forget that day. There was a lot of singing involved, too...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter ended up being a lot longer than I expected it to be. Oops. Hope you enjoyed!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro recounts the time when he and Allura went all out in their performance at a karaoke bar, followed by a romantic trip to one of Allura's favorite places.

Matt tugged on the collar of his shirt, looking at himself in the mirror. 

“I can’t believe I’m doing this.”

“Wow,” Shiro said from the doorway, grinning widely, “you look decent. Want to impress Veronica, huh?”

“I’ve already impressed her if she agreed to go on this double date, you moron,” Matt said dryly, putting his hands on his hips. “I might impress someone else, though. Maybe I can get Allura to fall for me instead of you.”

Shiro snorted. “Yeah, right. Matt, you’re my best friend, but you are never going to be able to get Allura.”

Matt wriggled his brows. “Wanna bet?”

“I won’t do that to you,” Shiro said, walking away from Matt’s room. “You’d only end up having to pay me back and end up in more debt than you already are.”

“Okay screw you too!” Matt called out, pouting as he only received a laugh in response. 

“But no really, screw you,” he muttered under his breath, resuming to his position by the mirror. 

Here he was, trying to make himself look nice, and it wasn’t even because he wanted to. No, Shiro’s girlfriend —or whatever they were— had forced him and Veronica into accepting on going on a double date with them after accidentally meeting Veronica when she was on a shopping spree with him. 

“You know he can probably hear you, right?” Veronica said, sitting lazily on the side of Matt’s bed. 

“Exactly,” Matt said, tugging his collar into place. “This is so stiff. Why did we even agree to this in the first place?”

Veronica rolled her eyes. “We agreed because it’s Allura and you were too afraid to say no.”

“I was not afraid of her,” Matt said defensively, “I was just… concerned about ruining their date?”

Veronica laughed. “You’re a terrible liar. You know that you only agreed because you were too chicken to say no,” she teased. 

Matt huffed in annoyance. “Fine, I was! But I had good reason, too! Have you seen Allura’s muscles? She and Shiro could bench press me without breaking a sweat! I don’t even want to imagine what they would do if I denied them a double date.”

“I thought you liked a woman who could bench press you and ‘kick your ass’,” Veronica said in amusement. 

“Not when it’s Allura,” Matt said, shuddering. “Shiro said that she’s trained in the art of self defense and works out daily at home. That’s amazing, but also scary.”

“I can’t believe you’re afraid of your roommate’s girlfriend,” Veronica said, shaking her head. “Or is she his date only? What are they?”

Matt shrugged, straightening up. “Beats me. I have no idea what they are, and I’m not asking either. They’re like this weird thing, you know what I mean?”

Veronica sighed. “Oh, those kinds of relationships. They’re dumb. You’re either a couple or nothing.”

Matt hummed. “Yeah, true. Truth be told, I’m just happy Shiro is happy now. He hasn’t smiled or laughed this much since… you know…”

“Kerberos,” Veronica finished, frowning. “Yeah, I know what you mean. He’s been about of his house more often, too.”

“I know!” Matt shouted, “he’s even getting a tan!”

Veronica grinned. “So, what’s the plan for this date anyways? Allura just said it was at a beachfront restaurant, but she didn’t say anything else. Are we going to Sal’s?”

Matt rolled his eyes. “I know as much as you do about this. I just want to eat and go sleep, you know what I mean?”

Veronica nodded. “Definitely. Did you know that Lance asked to come along?”

“Really?” Matt laughed, “Keith asked to come along too, but Shiro said no. He threw a temper tantrum, and Shiro had to call Allura to calm him down.”

Veronica hummed in amusement. “Jesus. If Shiro does end up with this chick, she’s going to be the head of the house, like in that one kids movie where they were all superheroes.”

“If Shiro ends up with her. Key word being if,” Matt said, putting his hands on his hips. “Although, I’m pretty sure that if it were up to him, he’d marry her tonight.”

Veronica snorted. “Honestly, yeah.”

“Guys! Allura just called!” Shiro shouted from elsewhere in the room, “she’s ready for us to pick her up!”

“Finally!” Veronica shouted, pulling herself off the bed. She smoothed the wrinkles out of her button down navy blue dress, standing up and doing a little twirl. 

“How do I look?”

“Like my date,” Matt winked, extending her arm towards her. “Come on. I think Shiro’s going to start yelling if we don’t get down there within the next five minutes.”

“Matt! Veronica!”

“We’re going, we’re going! Yeesh!”

Veronica laughed as Matt led her out of the room, shaking her head as she watched Shiro tap his foot impatiently, glaring at them. 

“Someone’s happy to see us,” she whispered into his ear sarcastically. 

“We’re going to be late! The reservation is for seven!”

Matt rolled his eyes. This was going to be a longggg night.

* * *

“You never told me that Lance asked to come along,” Shiro said, staring at Matt in surprise. 

“I didn’t tell you because you would’ve tried to set them up on a play date even though they covered each other in red and blue marker lines the last time they interacted,” Matt said dryly. 

Shiro gasped. “I would not!”

“You’re Shiro,” Matt said, grinning, “and Shiro loves to torture his his brother.”

“He’s right,” Keith said, nodding in agreement. 

“I can’t believe Ronnie and Matt were… a thing,” Lance said quietly, shuddering. “I didn’t think she would aim that low!”

“Hey!”

Pidge nodded. “He’s right. Veronica is like, a one hundred, and Matt is like… a two on a good day?”

Hunk winced. “Ouch. Why do you guys love roasting your siblings so much?”

Lance stared at him blankly. “Matt isn’t my sibling. I’m allowed to bully him, just like I’m allowed to bully Shiro over his crush on Allura.”

“She’s not even here anymore!” Keith sputtered, staring at Lance in disbelief. “Don’t do that to Matt! He’ll get hurt!”

Matt huffed. “Finally. Someone who shows respect.”

“He’s Shiro’s boyfriend, after all!”

“I take that back. You are now disowned.”

Shiro let out a chuckle. “Are you sure you want to keep telling the story? You look kinda tired.”

“If I’m tired it’s because all these demon children feel like teasing me over things that are so rude,” Matt said, glaring at Lance. 

“I’m not a demon!” Hunk said innocently.

“Oh yeah, except Hunk. He’s an angel.”

“Yeah!” Hunk cheered, smiling up at Shiro. “Shiro, your boyfriend is pretty cool.”

“Disowned!” Matt shouted in pure betrayal. 

The children began laughing loudly, allowing Matt to let out a deep sigh. 

“Disowned,” he mumbled sadly. 

Shiro frowned. “You okay? I can take over, you know.”

“No no no! It’s not because of that,” Matt said, a hint of red on his cheeks, “I’m just letting them get their giggles out before I continue on with your tragic romance.”

“But you supported us,” Shiro pouted. 

“Yes and no,” Matt said, shrugging. “Hey, help get the kids settled, will you?”

Shiro stared at him blankly. “Huh?”

Matt facepalmed. “Fine! I’ll do everything myself! Hey kids!”

“Huh?”

“Are you going to listen to the story or not? Because it gets interesting once Allura almost sets the table and Shiro on fire,” he said, smirking. 

Lance gasped. “She did what?!”

“Veronica helped,” Matt said helpfully. 

“That’s not better!”

Matt shrugged. “It’s better for me. So are you going to sit your butts down so that I can explain what exactly happened or what?”

“Yes!”

“Finally! So, when we got there, everything was screwed up…”

* * *

“What do you mean that we don’t have reservation?!” Matt screeched, tugging on the edges of his hair as he stared at Allura. 

Allura sheepishly smiled. “They said that there must have been a mix up, but we don’t have a table right now. Sorry.”

Shiro patted her arm softly. “It’s fine. Sal’s is famously known for canceling reservations, right Matt?”

“I knew we shouldn’t have left until eight,” he grumbled. “We have nothing to do now!”

“Go home, maybe?” Veronica suggested, looking at Matt. 

“Oh if we do that, we can order Chinese food,” he said, brightening up. “Why didn’t I think of that before?”

“Because I’m the brains here, obviously,” she said, tucking a strand of her behind her ear. 

Allura let out a whine. “But I wanted to eat some good seafood,” she said sadly. “Shiro, what do we do now?”

“Karaoke bar?” 

Allura stared at him blankly. “What in the world is that?”

Matt and Veronica stared at her with wide eyes, a look of pure betrayal written on Matt’s features. 

“You’ve never been to a karaoke bar?!”

“Well excuse me for growing up confined to a castle,” she huffed. 

“You live in a castle?” Veronica asked, her jaw dropping even more. “Shiro, what kind of girlfriend do you have?!”

“Actually–“

“A rich one,” Matt said, running a hand through his hair. “Say, if we take you to a karaoke bar, will you pay the tab?”

“Matt!” Shiro hissed, his face red, “you know how much you spend there everytime we go! You can’t just make her pay for your–“

“Yes,” Allura said, grinning widely. “Take me, and I’ll pay.”

“You’re going to regret that,” Shiro said, eyeing Matt warily. “He spends more than two hundred everytime we go.”

Veronica shook her head. “Okay, what the hell did I just witness?”

“The death of Allura’s credit card,” Matt said, grinning victoriously. “Allura, I take back any doubts I had about you. You really are a queen!”

Allura wrinkled her nose. “Why in the world would you have doubts about me?”

“And we’re leaving!” Veronica announced loudly, looping her arm around Matt’s as they walked down the boardwalk. 

“Wait, I have questions!” Allura called out after them, only to be ignored by Matt and Veronica as they chatted idly.

“Yeah, you’re not going to get an answer,” Shiro said, chuckling lightly. “Those two are always in a world of their own.”

“I can tell.”

* * *

“I have no idea what happened after that with Shiro and Allura,” Matt said, rubbing the back of his neck. “I kinda tuned them out in favor of listening to Veronica.”

“You guys completely ignored us and passed the karaoke bar because you were so caught up in your conversation,” Shiro said, a smile on his lips. 

“You sound like you actually liked my sister,” Lance said, looking at him suspiciously. “What were you planning, Mister?”

Matt blinked. “Nothing…?”

“Explain yourself, Mattie boy!” Lance demanded, much to Shiro’s amusement. 

“Dude! Your sister and I weren’t even a thing! We only agreed to the dinner because we both wanted to please Shiro,” Matt said, looking at Lance in aghast. 

“So you’re saying she’s not pretty enough to be your girlfriend then, huh?” Lance challenged, balling his hands into fists. 

“That is not what I’m saying!”

“Square up, Matt!”

“Oh my god, shut up,” Keith said, slapping Lance’s arm. “Shouldn’t you be happy he didn’t date Veronica?”

Lance stopped trying to land a punch, staring at Keith. “What?”

“Think of it,” Keith said, motioning for Lance to sit back down next to him, “if she and Matt were a thing, they’d probably be married, and you wouldn’t be the young spoiled brat you are now.”

Lance blinked, slowly breaking out into a smile. “Wow! You’re right! Thanks, Keith. And sorry, Matt,” he said apologetically, patting Matt’s face before sitting down next to Keith again. 

“He ignored Keith calling him a brat,” Pidge whispered into Hunk’s ear. “A lil suspicious, dontcha think?”

Hunks eyes widened. “You know what that means, right?”

“Boyfriends!” They shouted loudly, laughing as the four other males stared at them in confusion. 

“You guys are going to give me an ulcer,” Matt said defeatedly. “Shiro, you tell your side of what happened on your walk with Allura. I’ll pick up once we get to the karaoke bar, because I know how to tell a funny story right.”

Shiro grinned. “I’m aware. Okay, so while Matt and Veronica were off talking about random thing–“

“Allura being rich and fun,” Matt corrected. 

“....right. That. Anyways! While Matt and Veronica were talking about Allura being rich and fun, she and I were talking about other, personal things.”

* * *

“So what exactly is a karaoke bar?” Allura asked once she and Shiro finally began walking, arm in arm. 

Shiro tilted his head to the side, looking out at the water thoughtfully. “Huh. It’s like a regular bar, except there’s a stage where anyone can go up and sing. It’s family friendly, too, so usually a bunch of kids or teenagers go up to sing the latest pop hit.”

“Did you sing?” Allura asked, looking up at Shiro with a smile. 

“Sometimes,” Shiro admitted, “but only when Matt and Veronica went up with me. We would go with our families all the time.”

“I take it you three have been friends for a while, then,” Allura said, looking after Veronica curiously. “You ever crushed on either of them?”

“Allura!” Shiro said, laughing, “no, of course not. Matt and Veronica have more romantic chemistry than I could have with either of them, but they still won’t even consider a date with one another.”

Allura raised a brow. “But aren’t they technically in a date now?”

Shiro blinked. A slow smile spread on his face, and he turned his head around to face Allura excitedly. 

“You’re right! Allura, you’re a genius.”

“I know,” she said, smirking. “But In all seriousness, they aren’t a couple?”

Shiro snorted. “No. They’re like the best friends that everyone thinks should be a couple when in reality, they prefer to be those cool best friends. You know what I mean?”

Allura shrugged. “I would if I ever witnessed a real relationship, but where I’m from, people make you get married to the first man who talks to you,” she huffed. 

Shiro raised a brow. “Is your family like that?”

Allura smirked. “Shiro, my dad sent me away for the summer to avoid that. If I’m not there, I’m at peace, and no one can bother me. I’m not getting engaged anytime soon, especially to any one of those snobby rich boys.”

Shiro laughed. “Aw. Are you saving that spot for me?”

Allura playfully slapped his chest with her hand, her face a tint of red. 

“Shiro! At least take me out to dinner before asking me to get engaged with you!”

“Isn’t that what I’m doing?” Shiro said cheekily, gesturing at the various beachside restaurants that they were passing. “Besides, it’s not like I haven’t taken you out to dinner. I did that the first day!”

“That was a friendly chat to know each other better. The closest thing we got to a dinner together was eating ice cream at McDonald’s because Keith wanted to,” Allura said dryly. 

“It still counts!”

“What’s next? Are you going to propose marriage in a McDonald’s, too?” She asked in amusement. 

“The McFlurrys are to die for, Allura.”

“Mhm. I’m sure they are.”

“Allura!” Shiro whined, nudging her with his elbow, “let me have this one!”

“Do you really want everyone to know that our first dinner date was at a McDonald’s and not a big fancy restaurant?” Allura said, staring up at Shiro with a smirk. 

Shiro scoffed. “Psh. As if that’s a bad thing. I’ve learned that being spontaneous is better than planning everything out. It’s just easier and more efficient.”

“Well now you sound like a teenager as opposed to a full grown man,” Allura said, smiling. 

“I may be old, but my heart is young. I’m a child at heart, you know.”

“And perhaps a romantic, too?” She teased, her eyes twinkling playfully. 

Shiro blinked. “What makes you say that?”

Allura huffed. “Oh, don’t play coy with me, Shiro. I know you know what I’m referring to, and if you don’t, then I’m taking my black lion back from you.”

Shiro grinned, pulling her closer to him. Allura let out a yelp as they bumped shoulders, Shiro slipping his arm out of hers and wrapping it around her shoulders. 

“A romantic, you say? I think I can manage to do that,” he said cheekily. 

Allura blushed, allowing herself to wrap her arm around his lower back, leaning into him. “I never said that you couldn’t, you know.”

“But you insinuated it,” he said, “and I don’t go down without a fight for anything.”

“Please don’t fight anyone,” Allura said warily. “Keith almost picked a fight with a toddler at the park yesterday, you know. I’m afraid that your personality is starting to rub off on him, too.”

“I still can’t believe you prefer my brother over me,” Shiro complained childishly. “Like, I get it, because he’s a baby, but I’m me! I’m your date?”

Allura hummed in amusement. “Only my date? Pity,” she said, pouting, “I thought we were an item. Guess not.”

“Jesus–! Allura, if that’s what you want, then yes! I’m all for it!”

Allura giggled into her free hand. “You’re terrible at asking a girl out. You know that, right?”

“I’ve been told I’m a bit dense and slow when it comes to relationships,” Shiro said, shaking his head. “I can’t believe you, my own...girlfriend, would say such a thing!”

“My boyfriend is an idiot,” Allura said, no hesitation or regret to be heard in her tone when she called him hers, “but I still am completely smitten with him. He’s slowly turning me into a moron.”

“Nah. I’m just turning you into a normal Altean city girl,” he said with a bright smile. 

Allura let out a huff. “Oh great. Now I’m going to miss this place even more when I’m called back home.”

“I thought you said you were going to fight to stay here,” Shiro said, his smile slipping. “Are you having second thoughts?”

Allura looked at him in aghast. “Of course not! I love it here! In fact, if I had a choice, I’d stay here until I died! My father called me last night,” she said, twiddling a strand of hair around her finger. 

“And? Is he making you go home?”

“No, he said that he knows me and to not get any ideas of staying here,” she said with a roll of her eyes. “If he really did know me, he’d know that I will run away at any time when I’ve had enough of the rich life.”

Shiro sighed. “I don’t understand that. You’re rich, shouldn’t that make you feel some sort of level of satisfied?”

Allura laughed sadly. “Oh Shiro, that’s what everyone thinks. Money cannot buy happiness, and me? I’m afraid that I’ll never be satisfied with my place back home. But here?”

She looked up at him with a sweet smile, her free hand reaching up to touch his cheek.

Shiro’s throat went dry. “Wh-What about here?”

“Here, I have Coran, freedom, but most importantly? I have you,” she said softly, tracing a heart on his cheek with her index finger. 

“Princess,” he said, clearing his throat, “are you… in love with me?”

“I think so, my good sir,” she said, moving her hand to her heart. “My very own knight in shining armor, saving me from the terrors of my own home.”

Shiro mock saluted her, sending her a wink. “That’s me.”

Allura let out a loud laugh, not even bothering to cover her mouth as she doubled over, attracting attention from a few passerby’s in the boardwalk. Her laughter, however, was ruined by a loud scream and a laugh.

“Marry me, Veronica!”

“Free food isn’t worth this, Matt!”

Shiro and Allura glanced at each other curiously before speeding up, rejoining Matt and Veronica, who were both laughing at their situation. 

“Why are you on your knee holding out an empty gum wrapper?” Shiro asked, wrinkling his nose. 

“I’m proposing to Veronica, you idiot. What else would I be doing?”

“We are not getting married,” Veronica said, facepalming, a secret smile on her lips. 

“I think you need rings to get engaged, you know,” Allura said, tilting her head to the side. “Veronica?”

“Yes, Allura?”

“Why is your forehead so red? Is it a rash?” She asked innocently. 

Matt let out a loud laugh, pointing at Veronica with a wide grin. “No, that’s just the permanent mark she has because she facepalms so much.”

“It’s mostly while you’re singing at the karaoke bar, too,” she said dryly, before brightening up, “which brings me to my next point. We’re here!”

Matt whipped his head around to look at the buildings, looking at Shiro in confusion as he realized just how far he had walked away from it. 

“How did we walk past it? I could’ve sworn it was farther up ahead!”

“I don’t know, man,” Shiro said, outing a hand to his hip. “How do you propose to Veronica without taking her out on a date first? I could’ve sworn you both said you only saw each other as friends.”

Allura grinned. “Yikes.”

Veronica scoffed, pulling Matt up. “We’re not a thing,” she clarified, poking Matt in the ribs with her elbow, “but Matt thought that if we could fool people into thinking that we were getting engaged, they’d give us a free dinner reservation.”

“Admit it, I’m a genius,” Matt said, shooting her finger guns. “You’re just jealous because you didn’t think of it first. Friends with benefits, man! You gotta please the people who think you’re dating even though you’re only really good friends!”

“That is _not_ what that means!”

“The night is only getting older as we waste time out here,” Allura spoke up, crossing her arms across her chest. “Shiro promised me the full Altea experience, and I want to see this karaoke bar.”

Veronica raised a brow. “I’ve never seen anyone so determined to go to a karaoke bar. Are you going to sing?”

“Oh yes,” Allura said, a dark gleam in her eyes, “I am.”

* * *

“Did she sing good?” Keith asked, genuinely curious. 

“I think that’s the first time Keith’s ever asked a question that doesn’t involve Allura being annoying,” Lance said, clearly impressed. 

“Aw!” Hunk cooed, “he has feelings after all, just like Shiro!”

“Yeah yeah, laugh it up,” Keith said, blushing lightly. “I’m only asking so I can see if I can tease Shiro over dating someone who has just as bad of a singing voice like him.”

Shiro gasped. “Are you kidding me? My voice is not bad!” 

“You sound like a country singer,” Pidge said, pulling another lollipop out of her pocket, much to Matt’s dismay. 

“Well maybe I like country singers!”

“No,” Lance said, smirking, “you like Matts and Alluras!”

“Oh my god,” Matt huffed, “Shut up.”

“While that may be true,” Shiro said, side eyeing Matt, “I like my singing voice better. I even made Keith that music video for his last birthday!”

“Cheesy,” Keith said, “just like how you confessed you like Matt!”

“They’re boyfriends, idiot!” Lance said, smacking Keith’s head. 

“Inner peace,” Matt breathed, his cheeks red, “inner peace.”

“He’s having a gay crisis,” Pidge whispered to Hunk, “at least, that’s what I think it is.”

Hunk sighed dreamily. “I wanna be like Matt one day.”

Pidge wrinkled her nose. “Why would you wanna be like Matt? He’s tiny and never wears matching socks,” she said in disgust.

“You literally only wear green, Pidge,” Matt said, rolling his eyes.

“Matt! Why would you propose to my sister?! She doesn’t like you!” Lance wailed.

“It was for thre free food!”

“This isn’t Disneyland,” Keith mumbled. “I bet he was just trying to make Allura and Shiro jealous.”

“Hi, yes?” Pidge said, sticking a hand up, “can you please shut up and let Matt talk now? I wanna hear what happened at the karaoke bar! Did Allura and Shiro sing a duet?”

Matt grinned. “Oh yeah, they sang.”

Shiro flushed red, covering his face with his flesh hand. “Matt, please.”

Lance gasped. “Like those people in Disney movies!” He said excitedly. “Tell me more, tell me more!”

“Okay, so when we got to the bar– Shiro, wanna help me tell this part? You can give us all the special details I don’t know,” Matt suggested, flashing Shiro a smile.

Shiro smiled back at him. “Sure.”

“Okay, so like I was saying, when we got to the bar, Allura ended up doing some crazy things that night that made Shiro even more whipped for her than he was before…”

* * *

“This place looks so… amazing!” Allura exclaimed as she waltzed into Voltron Karaoke Bar, her eyes sparkling. “The lights! The stage! The food! The beer.”

Matt raised a brow. “You didn’t say she had a thing for beer,” he whispered into Shiro’s ear.

“I thought she wasn’t an alcoholic,” Shiro whispered back, looking at Allura,clearly impressed. “Damn.”

“Maybe rich girls can have fun at bars,” Veronica said, grinning as she ran up to Allura. 

Veronica took Allura’s hand in hers, smiling brightly at her. “Do you like to drink?”  
Allura scoffed. “Psh. Who doesn’t? I may be a ‘good girl’ when it comes to my reputation back at home, but I love me some beer,” she said, shooting Shiro a discrete grin.

Veronica narrowed her eyes, her grin growing. “Wanna go get some whiskey?”

“I’ll buy you that if you want, but I’m going for a margarita,” Allura said, returning Veronica’s devilish grin.

“Deal!”

The two women ran off to go buy drinks, leaving both Shiro and Matt to look after them, the duo looking extremely bewildered.

“What the hell just happened?” Matt asked, blinking slowly as he watched Veronica start ordering her drinks, with Allura nodding approvingly from beside her.

“I think my girlfriend just bonded with your fiance over margaritas and whiskey,” Shiro replied, his lips curling into a smile.

“Holy shit– wait, fiance?!” Matt gasped, smacking Shiro in the chest harshly. “I do not like her like that!”

Shiro smiled innocently. “Did I say fiance? I meant to say wife.”

“Oh my god,” Matt said in annoyance, “this is why I won’t tell you who I actually like.”

“Wait, you actually like someone?” Shiro asked incredulously. “Who is it?”

“No one!” Matt said, his voice suddenly squeaky.

Shiro looked at him in confusion before shrugging. “Suit yourself. Hey, wanna get a booth in the back before the girls are done ordering their drinks?”

“Yes,” Matt said, obviously relieved. 

Once they were seated in a booth where they could see the stage clearly, they settled in, beginning to chat idly while Allura and Veronica finally finished telling the bartender what they wanted. The look on his face was priceless when Allura slid her credit card over to him with a wink, Veronica looking at Allura in pure admiration.

“Are you girls sure you want all these drinks? You are here alone… and we’d hate for anything to happen because you were so intoxicated…” he said, uncertainty in his tone.

Allura let out a laugh, attracting Shiro’s attention from a few feet away.

“Believe me, if we were alone, we wouldn’t order so many drinks. Don’t worry,” she said, her eyes twinkling in amusement, “we have chaperones tonight.” She jerked a finger towards where Shiro and Matt were, the boys waving enthusiastically at the bartender.

He smiled. “Ah. I didn’t notice Shiro and Matt with you. Well, in that case, I’ll give you a reduced price. These boys are some of our biggest customers, overall.”

Allura blinked, turning to look at Veronica curiously. “Just how often do you come here?”

Veronica grinned. “We’ve been coming every weekend since high school. It’s kind of our go to spot, you know what I mean?”

“I have on of those.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I call it my bedroom, because that’s where I can drink in peace without getting caught doing anything wrong,” Allura said.

Veronica let out a loud laugh. “Oh man. I am so glad that Shiro didn’t get himself a boring girlfriend. You are so fun to talk to!”

“Obviously,” Allura huffed, throwing her hair over her shoulder. “I am a joy to be around!”

Veronica chuckled. “Yeah, you are.”

They got up from their stools once their first round of drinks were served, waling over towards Shiro and Matt with wide smiles. Sliding into the booth, Allura set down her martini, leaning her head back and closing her eyes.

“This is so fun already, and we haven’t even sung anything yet! I mean, you get to drink whatever you want without being scolded because everyone is doing the same thing!” she exclaimed, giggling. “Shiro, I’m never leaving Altea.”

“Good,” Shiro said with a smile, placing a hand on her thigh, “I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

She flashed him a large smile before leaning up and pressing a kiss to his cheek, making Matt gag.

“Get a room, you two!” He teased, crumpling up a napkin and throwing it at them.

“Matt, leave them alone! She’s literally buying us all our drinks!” Veronica said, shoving him in the ribs. “Be nice to her!”

“Allura, you’re going to be in debt after Matt adds his tab onto yours,” Shiro said, wincing.

Matt scoffed. “Please. You make it sound like you didn’t plan on adding to her credit card debt, too.”

“That’s because I’m not,” Shiro said, resisting the urge to laugh when Allura looked at him scandalously.

“Why not?! I don’t mind paying, you know!”

“I’m designated driver tonight,” Shiro replied, smiling softly when he saw Allura’s expression change into an understanding one. “One of us has to be sober so that we don’t end up crashing halfway home.”

“You’re such an inspiration,” Allura said, placing a hand on his shoulder. 

“Truly an icon,” Matt said, Veronica nodding beside him in quiet agreement. 

“I could never be like him.”

Allura clasped her hands together before grabbing her martini glass, lifting it up to her lips, and chugging it down in all one sip. Veronica, Matt, and Shiro could only gawk as she chugged her drink down, the woman not even wincing once as she chugged it down. When she finished, she slammed it down on the table, grinning triumphantly as she looked at each of the shocked faces around her.

“What? You think a first class girl can’t drink?”

She stood up, extending a hand towards Shiro, grinning playfully. “Let’s sing, Shiro!”

“I…”

“Go!” Matt said, shoving Shiro by the shoulder. “Go serenade her up on stage, you coward!”

“I’m going, I’m going!” 

Shiro and Allura laughed as they made their way up to the stage, quickly telling the DJ what song they wanted before climbing up the steps. Allura held onto Shiro’s hand tightly as she moved to the center of the stage, the two looking at each other with a grin as the DJ gave them a thumbs up.

Matt quickly turned around to face Veronica, biting his lip. “What do you think they picked?”

“Something that’s a stereotype, guaranteed,” Veronica said, grinning in anticipation as the people eating settled in their seats, looking up at the duo on stage.

The beginning chords to the song began, and Shiro began to back up away from Allura, the woman putting a hand on her hip and grinning flirtatiously.

Matt choked on his spit, Veronica breaking out in the brightest grin. She quickly stood up in her seat, pumping her fists in the air victoriously.

“Yes!”

Shiro tugged on his collar, returning Allura’s grin as his part came up. 

“I got chills! They’re multiplying,” he sang, inching closer towards Allura, “and I’m losing control, cause the power you’re supplying...it’s electrifying!” 

Allura tilted her head up, looking down at Shiro with a smirk. 

“You better shape up,” she began, resisting the urge to laugh when Shiro went completely wide eyed, “cause I need a man, and my heart is set on you.”

She winked at him, Shiro going weak in the knees. 

“You better shape up, you better understand,” she sang, coming up to him and holding him by the hands, “to my heart I must be true.”

“Nothing left for me to do!” Shiro sang, the crowd in the bar beginning to cheer once Allura and Shiro began moving together, sloppily yet gracefully choreographing a dance. 

“You’re the one that I want! Oo-oo-oo-, honey the one that I want!”

They laughed as the crowd joined in on the chorus, many people standing up and clapping for them while singing along. Matt and Veronica did too, the two clutching into each other while cheering for their friends on stage. 

“The one that I want! Oo-oo-oo, the one I need, oh yes indeed!”

Shiro partes from Allura, looking her up and down with a grin. Allura lowered her eyelids and blew him a kiss, stepping away from him sassily, her heels making clicking noises as she turned to look at him, a devious smirk on her face. 

“If you’re filled with affection, you’re too shy to convey,” she sang in a sultry manner, walking up to Shiro while swinging her hips, “meditate in my direction.”

She reached him and pulled on his tie, pushing their faces close together. 

“Feel your way,” she sang lowly, blowing him a kiss before standing up straight. 

Shiro gulped before letting out a short scream, falling backwards as Allura let go of his tie. The crowd burst into laughter as Shiro quickly got up, walking up to Allura with determination. 

“I better shape up, cause you need a man…”

“I need a man who can keep me satisfied,” she filled in, wrapping her arms around his shoulders, the two moving around the stage quickly. 

“I better shape up, if I’m gonna prove,” Shiro sang, tilting her chin up with his finger. 

“You better prove that my faith is justified,” Allura continued, pulling once more on his tie. 

“Are you sure? Yes I’m sure down deep inside,” they both sang, eyeing each other with huge smiles, nodding as they took each other by the hands, slipping towards the front of the stage. 

“You’re the one that I want! Oo-oo-oo, honey you’re the one that I want!” The both sang, Allura laughing as Shiro spun her around by the hand. 

“The one that I want! Oo-oo-oo, honey you’re the one that I want!” 

Shiro lifted Allura yo by the waist, catching her and the entire bar by surprise. Loud whoops and cheers were heard, Allura laughing as she continued to sing, looking down at Shiro with sparkling eyes. 

“The one that I want! Oo-oo-oo, the one I need! Oh yes indeed!”

Shiro spun Allura once more, and hearing the song come to an end, he quickly reached out to grab her lower back, meeting her eyes. She nodded quickly, and without second guessing himself, Shiro brought her down into a dip, Allura grabbing onto his shoulders tightly. 

The song ended, and Allura and Shiro only stared at each other, panting for air. Shiro was quick to realize what had just happened, his eyes widening in shock as he heard the crowd let out a loud cheer, the applause deafening. 

A laugh bubbled out of Allura’s chest, the woman throwing her head back to laugh while still clutching onto Shiro. 

Shiro quickly returned his attention to Allura, his heart thumping wildly in his chest. His mind froze when he met her eyes, playfully and shining with life. Her blue eyes seemed to be dancing, and her small half ponytail that she had made was undone, her hair framing her sweaty face. Her light pink dress with a small bow around her waist, accompanied by the black high heels that she was wearing and tiny white earrings made him melt. 

He never truly knew the definition of going breathless until now. 

“Shiro? Mph!”

Allura was silenced as Shiro leaned in for a kiss, pressing their lips together hungrily as he resting his palm against her cheek. 

She let out a squeak before letting herself fall deeper into the kiss, the cheers growing louder, some kids in the background making stereotypical noises of disgust. Allura could care less as another laugh escaped her lips, the woman tugging on Shiro’s tie to tell him to let go. 

He let out a whine as they parted, bringing her to a standing position. She flashed him a brilliant smile, her face covered in sweat from all the dancing they had done. She didn’t seem to care, however. 

She took his hand and intertwined their fingers, raising their connected hands up into the air before bowing, Shiro following closely behind. The claps began to cease as the duo walked off the stage, Allura stumbling lightly as they made their way to their booth. 

“That was amazing!” Veronica said, her face flushed and full of excitement. 

“I’ve never seen you dance so much,” Matt said, grinning widely as Shiro chuckled. “I didn’t even think you knew how to do it!”

“Well, he did step on my toes a little,” Allura said, laughing when Shiro pouted. “It’s alright, though. I still love you anyways.”

Shiro grinned, his face going hot. “Aw, Princess. You do?”

“Stop with the nickname!” She laughed, swatting at his chest. 

Veronica cleared her throat. “I can’t believe you guys went for that one. I thought you didn’t even like that movie, Shiro!”

“He only likes it when he gets to dance with Allura to its soundtrack,” Matt said, smirking. “Am I right or wrong, Shiro?”

“I am too tired to fight,” Shiro replies, plopping down in his seat, “but I will say this. Allura is one hell of a good dance partner.”

“Aw, thank you Shiro!”

Maty got a dangerous glint in his eyes, Veronica going pale from beside him. “Ha! You wanna see real dancing pros?”

“Please, no,” she begged. 

“Veronica! You thinking what I’m thinking?”

“We did that one last time! Come up with another one!” She complained. 

“No,” Matt said stubbornly, dragging her up to the stage, “we’re singing this one, and you’re gonna like it!”

“I already hate it!”

Allura chuckled as she watched Veronica tug on Matt’s shirt, trying to get loose, only to give up when Matt pulled her up to her feet and onto the stage. 

“The boy is mine! The boy is mine! The boy is mine! The boy is mine!”

Allura stifled a laugh as Shiro groaned, facepalming. 

“Not this again.”

“Seems they’re fighting over you,” she said in amusement, sliding into the booth next to him and laying her head on his shoulder, grabbing Veronica’s whiskey and chugging it all down.

“They always do this one, and they always point at me. By now, half the bar crowd every Saturday just shows up to watch them argue over me in the song,” he said warily, running his fingers through her hair. 

Allura let out a sigh. “But you’re allllll mine,” she said, closing her eyes. “Alll mine.”

Shiro hummed in agreement, only to receive no response. He looked down, finding that Allura had passed out on his shoulder, her small snores resounding in the booth. 

“Oh my god.”

He didn’t even notice the song was over until Matt and Veronica were looming over him, the two staring at him in shock. 

“Who finished my whiskey?!”

“Why is your girlfriend asleep? It’s not even nine yet!”

All Shiro could do was shrug helplessly, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. 

“She’ll wake up later when we go to what she really wanted to see.”

Xxxxxxxxxx

Allura let out a loud laugh as she stood by the side of the ferryboat, sticking her upper body out the window. 

“A ferry boat! I’ve always dreamed of going on one, but I never thought I’d actually get to go on one!”

Shiro smiled as he placed his head on hers, wrapping his arms around her waist. The two looked looked out at the calming ocean water, the lights from the boardwalk illuminating it brightly. 

“Do you like it?”

“I love it!” She said happily, taking out a camera from her purse to snap pictures of the water. 

Shiro presses a kiss to her cheek, Allura smiling shyly as she put a hand to his cheek. 

“I’m glad you do, Princess.”

“Hey Shiro! They have snacks upstairs!” Matt shouted from the opposite side of the boat, Veronica standing at his side. 

“You go ahead! I’ll stay here with Allura,” Shiro shouted back. 

Matt’s shrugged. “Suit yourself. Come on, Veronica!” He offered her his arm and the two walked up the stairs to the second floor of the boat, to where presumably the snack bar was. 

Allura sighed contently, letting herself lean into Shiro’s chest. After a few moments of them looking out at the water, Allura cleared her throat. 

“Hey, Shiro?

“Hm?”

“I want to rent us a cabin for the last week of August,” she said, smiling. 

Shiro’s eyes widened. “Princess, I thought you were joking!”

Allura shrugged, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “We can bring Matt and Veronica too, you know. They’d be great companions!”

“Are you so sure that it’s a good idea to rent a cabin?”

“It’s by the lake and we can bring Keith along of you want,” she suggested, pulling out a flask of what Shiro assumed was more whiskey from her purse. 

“Allura…”

“I promise it’ll be fun!” She pouted. “I just wanna see the woods. The beach is nice, but the woods allow us more… privacy, you know what I mean?”

Shiro went red in the face. “Allura…”

“Not like that!” She exclaimed, her own face going hot, “I meant like away from all the town people and their assuming eyes. They all know I’m not from here, and they whisper, Shiro.”

“That’s because you’re Coran’s niece,” Shiro said. “Altea is a small place. Everyone knows everyone and their mother.”

“Exactly! If we rent out a cabin, we can spend the month just hiking and going on canoe rides. You know, fun stuff! It’ll be a good change from the city,” she said helpfully. 

Shiro hummed. “I mean, I’m all for it. I don’t know about Matt and Veronica, though. I think they have jobs.”

“Don’t you have one too?”

Shoe smiled wryly. “I asked for sick leave during the summer because my mom was leaving me to take care of Keith, which was a complete lie. My boss loves me and didn’t mind, so I’m free.”

“Aw,” Allura cooed, “you lied for me? How sweet and charming!”

“Yeah yeah, laugh it up. I just wanted to spend all my summer with you, you know,” he said, smiling fondly. 

“I know,” she said quietly. 

“The cabin idea, though? I’m pretty sure I told Matt the same thing the same day I met you,” he said in amusement. “I’m all for it.”

Allura brightened up and spun around on her heels, grabbing Shiro by the neck, smiling up at him with one of the biggest smiles he had even seen her wear. 

“Oh thank you! We’ll adopt a cat while we’re there, and we can go on a hike every morning…”

Shiro only watched her ramble on with a dopey smile, Allura making wild hand gestures as she described their ideal getaway. 

He was so, so in love with her.

* * *

“But little did I know that the cabin trip was going to be what sealed my fate,” Shiro said, a sad smile on his face. 

Lance frowned. “What do you mean by that?”

“He means that what happened then sealed his fate as a man officially in love with a woman who didn’t have the heart to tell him that she would have to leave, no matter what she promised,” Matt said.

Lance gasped. “She didn’t tell you?!”

“We went over this already,” Keith said impatiently. “Come on! Get with the program!”

“Yeah Lance!” Pidge said, shoving his shoulder.

“Hey! I was just asking a question,” he said defensively.

“Yeah, he was only asking a question,” a voice spoke up from behind them.

Lance brightened up, and Matt only let out a resigned sigh, not even bothering to turn around to look at the newcomer.

“Ronnie!”

Veronica grinned, crossing her arms across her chest. “Lance, what are you doing here? Did Matt not even try to take care of you at home?”

Lance shook his head. “Nope!” He said, smiling widely. 

“Uh-huh. I knew it,” she said, sitting down besides Matt and shoving him lightly. Matt let out a sound of protest, pouting.

“I’m still confused,” she said, looking at the children. “They never sit still like this. Did you give them some tranquilizer or something?”

“No!” Matt said scandalously, “I would never!”

Veronica narrowed her eyes. “Really?”

“Of course not!”

“Hm,” she said suspiciously. “Pidge, can you vouch for your brother?”

“He ain’t lying,” she said, “but he would do it if he got really tired of us.”

“I would not!” He said defensively, Shiro cackling at his side. “Shiro, help me out here, you useless idiot!”

Shiro grinned, leaning out to face Veronica. “While what you’re saying is hilarious and Matt-like, that’s not what happened. He brought the kids down, and the kids asked a question that I’m answering.”

Veronica wrinkled her nose. “How boring. Why does it take you five hours to give them an answer?”

“Because it’s about Allura!” Hunk shouted enthusiastically.

Veronica gasped, turning to look at Shiro with wide eyes. “A…Allura? You mean, England Allura?”

Matt nodded. “Yup. They asked him why his boat is named Allura, and we’ve been reliving his tragic romance for the past three hours. Or was it four?”

 

“Wow,” Veronica said, her voice sad, “I can’t believe you’d tell them that story. Do you want them to cry?”

Shiro shrugged. “It’s not my fault if they cry. I’m just telling the story how it went.”

Veronica shook her head. “Well, Allura told me everything. We were kinda close, you know. Maybe I can help you tell the story the right way,” she suggested.

“Eugh. If I have to hear about how you and Matt were almost a thing, I’m gonna be sick!”

Veronica flushed red. “Shiro! How many times do we have to tell you, we were not a thing!”

“That’s what I’ve been saying!” Matt shouted, sending Veronica a grateful look. “Thank you, Vero!”

Shiro grinned. “So you say. Anyways, yeah, you can stay and add onto the story when something comes up that we don’t know.”

“Oh pal,” she said, shaking her head, “there’s so much that you don’t know about Allura, and so much that she told me. Which part are we up to?”

“The ferryboat ride,” Keith said, suddenly looking interested. “She had secrets? Tell us!”

“Oh, then next is the trip we took to an amusement park and the party after for the Fourth of July,” she said, smiling softly as she remembered the event. “That was the funnest time I’ve ever spent with someone in my entire life.”

“I want to be offended, but I can’t,” Matt said, sighing. “Allura really did make that summer less boring.”

“What happened there?” Lance asked, tilting her head to the side curiously. 

“Allura and Shiro invited us out for another double date, and since the first time had actually been fun, we agreed. We had no idea what we were in for when we agreed to go with them to the amusement park though,” she said, shuddering.

“Was Allura crazy?” Hunk asked.

“Oh, both she and Shiro were,” Matt said, grinning. “Then Veronica and Allura got stuck on the top of a roller coaster for a half hour, only for the ride to shoot them down without warning.”

“And then you had a party?” Pidge asked.

Veronica smiled sadly. “Yeah. We got drunk, and that’s when Allura told me everything. And when I mean everything, I mean everything.”

Lance placed his head on his knuckles. “Well, then tell us what happened!”

Shiro smiled. “Okay, this was the second double date that we would have over the course of the summer. Like Veronica said, we went to the amusement park, but the trip was full of so many mishaps that it made it truly memorable…”

**Author's Note:**

> This is my story for Nanowrimo! I've had the idea for this since forever, and I'm so excited to finally be able to publish it for all of you to read. I hope you guys enjoy this story!


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